That’s why we created this guide.

Based on current business trends and technology movements, we’ve identified the best new app ideas of the year. These money-making app ideas are poised for growth and success in 2024 and beyond. 

Innovative Mobile App Ideas For 2024

Coming up with the right idea is the first step of any mobile app development project. These ideas are great starting points for any entrepreneur or investor that wants to get involved in app development.

Parking Space Finder App

Parking is a big commodity in major cities and tourist destinations. Creating an app that allows users to find a parking space using their mobile devices can be a huge winner.

There are lots of different ways you can make this work.

One creative idea is a parking space marketplace, where people who own parking spaces can rent them out by the hour, day, week, or month. Alternatively, you can direct app users to both free and paid parking lots in the area.

You can make money by taking a commission on each transaction or charging a fee to list a parking space on the platform.

Food Donation App

According to Feeding America, more than 49 million Americans rely on food assistance programs for help, and 1 in 5 children in the US are food insecure.

Such a high demand for food donations requires modern technology to facilitate the process.

Your mobile app development project can focus on this trend and look for ways to improve the way donated foods are collected and distributed. You can partner with existing non-profits and food banks to get started or create one of your own. 

Employee Communication App

Internal communication is the key to success in any organization. 

Employee apps help businesses with human resources initiatives, safety and compliance, employee training, benefits administration, and more. You can even use an employee self-service app for your staff to check pay stubs on their phones. 

Push notifications make it easy for organizations to notify employees about upcoming events and urgent scheduling changes. These such apps even work for crisis and emergency communication.

Check out our guide on the top benefits of an employee communication app to learn more. Then you can use BuildFire’s workforce app builder to get started. 

Grocery Delivery App

More than 60 million people have a food delivery app installed on their smartphone. 

They’re already used to the idea of having food delivered to their doors. Coming up with new mobile app ideas in a space that’s already trending upward will help you succeed. 

Rather than partnering with restaurants, you can use that same concept of food delivery apps for groceries. People can use your app to order produce, baked goods, household items, eggs, cheese, frozen foods, and anything else offered at local grocery stores. 

If you’re interested in this idea, you can follow our step-by-step guide on how to make a food delivery app.

Voice Translation App

There are about 430 languages spoken in the United States alone. This has created a significant demand for voice translators.

You can create an app that records someone speaking, then automatically transcribes that recording in the user’s desired language. 

This type of app can help break down language barriers in the workplace, for tourism and international travel, and even teach people how to speak a new language.

A voice translation app can help users travel abroad and feel comfortable enough to communicate with others in a language that they’ve never spoken before. There are countless ways to market this idea.

Content and Media App

Content creators that already have a presence on YouTube, social media, and other platforms can scale to create a standalone mobile app for their brands. 

This is an excellent way to produce and distribute exclusive blogs, videos, and podcasts.

You can either repurpose your existing content from all channels into a single app for your fans. Or you can use your app to promote premium content that isn’t available anywhere else. A combination of these two methods is also a viable business model.

This is a great way to turn your content into revenue by charging a subscription fee for your app users to access exclusive content. 

Click here to learn more about BuildFire’s solutions for content, media, and entertainment apps.

Supermarket Checkout App

Here’s another innovative app idea that users will love. A grocery store checkout app that lets you avoid the line.

As users are shopping, they can use a barcode scanner feature on the app to scan items and add them to their cart. When they’re done, they can simply checkout through the app and get charged to a credit card stored on file. 

They never need to take out their wallets or wait in line at the store again. 

Travel Planner App

If you love to travel, this app is a must-have. It allows users to plan every aspect of their trip from start to finish, including booking flights, finding accommodation, and creating a personalized itinerary.

Users can also access reviews from other travelers, as well as recommendations for local restaurants, attractions, and activities.

Virtual Personal Assistant App

This app concept is perfect for busy individuals who need help managing their daily tasks. Users can input their schedule and to-do list, and the app will suggest reminders and alerts to help them stay on track.

The app can also handle things like managing appointments and automating mundane workflows.

Criminal Alert App

We’re living in a crazy world these days. Having an app that lets citizens monitor police activity or suspicious behavior in their neighborhood will help people feel safer.

Users can be notified whenever a new incident takes place within their geofenced location.

You can also set up a feature for users to report suspicious behavior in their area and create a community space within the app—like a virtual neighborhood watch program. 

Wedding Planner Mobile App Idea

Planning a wedding is a full-time job. This great mobile app idea can be marketed toward wedding planners and engaged couples alike. 

Wedding planners can create an app to manage events and simplify everything from a single source of truth. They can use it to create schedules, connect with vendors, share information with their clients, and handle all communication. You can even use this app to manage, sign, and distribute contracts. 

Someone getting married can take advantage of wedding planning mobile apps to manage guest lists, discover local vendors, and create a checklist of tasks to complete. 

Church and Religious App

Even churches and religious organizations are going mobile. 

You can create a church app to deliver daily inspiration to your community, collect donations, manage upcoming events, and share your schedule. These apps are great for anyone that wants to upload videos of previous sermons so people can virtually attend church from anywhere. 

Check out our guide on how to build a church app and click here to learn more about BuildFire’s church app builder. 

Video Editing App

Good app ideas look at existing trends, habits, and consumer behavior.

People are using their smartphones for everything, and they’re constantly taking videos seemingly everywhere they go. What are they doing with these videos? Most people are sharing them on social media.

But the problem with social media is that it’s tough to stand out from the crowd. Everyone is using the same built-in video editing tools, filters, and features—so everyone’s content looks the same.

You can come up with your own unique video editing toolkit and offer it in the form of a standalone mobile app. From there, users can connect with their favorite social channels and upload the edits directly from your platform. 

Random Chat App

A random chat app connects strangers. 

Every time someone opens the app, they’ll be connected with a new person. Think of this like a virtual pen pal. 

You can use it to connect people from around the world or use it for people to make new friends in their local area. 

Mental Health Therapy App

Mental health is just as important as physical health, yet many people struggle to access therapy due to scheduling or location constraints. This app allows users to connect with licensed therapists for virtual sessions, eliminating the need to travel to an office.

Users can also use the app to track their mood and progress, and to access self-care resources and exercises.

Weather Alert App

This app goes beyond just providing weather forecasts. It can be used to alert users of potential weather hazards in their area. This can include things like thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes, as well as air quality alerts for people with respiratory issues.

App users can even set up personalized alerts for specific weather conditions and access emergency resources and evacuation plans.

Gym and Fitness App

This is one of the best mobile app ideas of the year. 

Personal trainers, gym owners, dietitians, nutritionists, yoga instructors—the opportunities are endless. 

It’s a great way for anyone in the health and fitness industry to scale their business. Mobile apps can be used to share custom workout videos or meal plans. They’re also great for managing class schedules and letting people manage their memberships. 

Personal trainers can earn recurring revenue on a subscription basis through virtual training. You can infinitely scale your client base by offering in-app training lessons without ever meeting them in person. 

Learn more about BuildFire’s solutions for fitness and wellness apps here. 

Home Security App

Innovative app ideas are always in high demand. 

Smart home technology paired with mobile apps is definitely something that users will be interested in. 

You can create an app that lets people lock their doors, put their lights on timers, and monitor security cameras from anywhere. Apps can even notify homeowners and renters about motion sensors that were tripped on the property.

These apps can connect with local police, fire, and medical services for fast responses to an incident. 

Virtual Fashion Assistant

This app allows users to have a personal stylist at their fingertips. Users can input their style preferences and budget, and the app suggests clothing and accessory options for them to purchase.

The app also offers features like personalized recommendations on what to wear based on the user’s current wardrobe. 

Home Maintenance App

This is a must-have app for homeowners and landlords looking to keep track of home maintenance tasks. Users can input the details of their home, including the age and type of appliances, and the app will suggest a personalized maintenance schedule.

Users can also access home maintenance resources and tips, and track their progress as they complete tasks.

Augmented Reality App

Augmented reality apps have been trending upward for quite some time. In fact, augmented reality made our list of the top app development trends of the year. 

That’s because the use cases are so versatile.

We’ve seen augmented reality used in gaming apps like Pokemon Go. They’ve also been used in home furniture apps, letting users see how a couch, desk, or table looks or fits in a space before it’s ordered and delivered. 

You can apply these same concepts to nearly any type of business and create an app that leverages AR technology.

Music Streaming App

If you have a band or make music, you can make your own app to showcase your portfolio. This app allows users to stream their favorite music from a library of songs. Users can create personalized playlists, discover new artists, and listen to curated radio stations.

The app can also offer features like offline listening and the ability to create and share playlists with friends.

Dating App

A modern dating app can help users find potential romantic matches in their area. Users create a profile, input their preferences, and the app suggests compatible matches. 

To stand out from other popular dating apps on the market, consider going after a smaller niche market.

The app also offers messaging and video chat features to allow users to get to know each other before meeting in person.

Digital Receipt App

Here’s an innovative app idea that can benefit business users and general consumers alike.

Help your target audience get better control over their finances with digital receipts. They can simply take a picture of a physical receipt or download copies of digital receipts and store everything within the app. 

It’s a great way for people to track spending, separate personal spending from business purchases, create an expense report, and stay organized if they’re audited. 

Tourist Helper App

This is one of my favorite app ideas for startups. 

You can create a completely new business from scratch by targeting tourism in different areas. The app can serve as a digital itinerary for travelers both domestically and overseas. 

People can use it for something simple like finding a restaurant or museum on a weekend getaway. Or they can use it to map out a backpacking trip across Europe. 

Pet Sitting App

This app allows users to find and book trusted pet sitters in their area. Users can add their pet’s details, including breed, age, and any special needs, and the app will suggest compatible sitters.

You can even include features like messaging, scheduling, and payment through the app, as well as the ability to rate and review sitters.

Virtual Party Planning App

You can create a mobile app for planning and hosting virtual parties, including birthdays, baby showers, and holiday gatherings. Users can invite guests, set a theme, and access a range of party resources, including games, activities, and recipes.

Access and add features like virtual backgrounds and the ability to record and share the event.

Education App

There are dozens of use cases for educational apps.

You can create an app for schools and universities, language learning app, or use apps to teach users new skills. 

E-learning is trending upward. Apps can be used to facilitate tests, share video instructions, access documents and learning materials, and create a digital community for learners. 

Disaster Management App

Disasters often happen unexpectedly. 

You can create a mobile app that helps people prepare for disasters, so they’re not scrambling when an unexpected event occurs. 

This is definitely one of the more brilliant app ideas for commercial use. We’ve seen these types of apps built first-hand here at BuildFire. You can read our Disaster Hawk case study to get inspiration and see how one app was used to help small businesses prepare for emergencies in the workplace. 

eBook Reader App

This app allows users to access a library of ebooks and audiobooks from their smartphone or tablet. Users can purchase books or rent them for a limited time and can customize the font, size, and theme of the app to their preferences.

The app also offers features like bookmarking, highlighting, and note-taking to help users engage with the material.

Job Search App

This intuitive mobile app makes it easy for people to find job opportunities in their field or location. Users can input their skills, experience, and desired salary, and the app suggests relevant job openings.

It should also include mobile resources like resume templates, interview tips, and salary negotiation guidance to help users land their dream job.

Social Networking App

You don’t need to be the next Facebook or Instagram to create a social media app.

Instead, you can focus on a niche community or group to target a more specific audience. For example, maybe you want to create a social networking app that’s specifically for bird watchers. Or maybe you have an awesome app idea for gardening that you can turn into a social network. 

Check out this story of Daylyy—a new type of social media concept that was created with BuildFire. 

Motivation App

Everyone needs a little motivation from time to time.

You can use an app to deliver daily words of inspiration or inspiration on-demand for your user base. 

This is another example of an app that we’ve seen succeed in the past. 

See how a solo entrepreneur used BuildFire to create PepTalks—a mobile app that reaches thousands of people around the world and earns recurring revenue by providing motivation. 

Interior Design App

This app is perfect for those looking to redecorate or redesign their home. It offers a range of interior design templates and tools, including a 3D design feature to visualize changes.

Users can also access a library of design ideas and inspiration, and connect with professional designers for personalized advice.

It’s also worth noting that this made our list of the best business ideas for women entrepreneurs.

Virtual Tour App

You can create an app that offers virtual tours of museums, landmarks, and other tourist attractions from the comfort of home. Users can access high-quality 360-degree imagery and detailed information about the sites they are visiting.

The app also offers features like guided tours and the ability to save and share favorite tours.

Virtual Shopping App

Mobile shopping has become the new normal.

If you currently have a retail store or ecommerce site, you need to create a mobile app to improve the user experience. This will help you increase sales and reduce cart abandonment rates. 

Check out our in-depth guide on the top reasons why you need an ecommerce app. You can also click here to learn more about the BuildFire ecommerce app builder. 

Anti Smartphone Addiction App

The average smartphone user checks their phone 150 times per day. 75% of people even admit to using their phones while driving. A whopping 47% of parents say their kids are addicted to their smartphones. 

You can create an app that monitors smartphone activity, helping people track how much time they’re spending on their devices and preventing people from overusing them.

The app can be used to set time restrictions and send users alerts when they’ve used their phone too frequently or have the screen on for an extended period of time. 

Mood Monitoring App

Mental health is a priority for millions of people worldwide. 

You can create a simple mood monitoring app for people to check in on themselves. They can record their feelings, take notes, and see how their mood progresses over the course of days, weeks, months, and even years.

This type of app can also offer tips, best practices, and methods for improving your mood. With a no code development platform, you can build and launch a mood monitoring app in weeks.

Virtual Art Gallery App

Provide mobile access to a range of virtual art exhibits and exhibitions from around the world. Users can browse artwork by artist, style, or location, and can save and share their favorites.

The app also offers features like guided tours and the ability to purchase artwork directly through the app.

Eco-Friendly Lifestyle App

This app helps users make more eco-friendly choices in their daily lives. It offers tips and resources on how to reduce waste, conserve energy, and live sustainably.

Users can also track their progress and set goals to help them stay on track.

Gift Delivery App

There are countless occasions where giving gifts is appropriate.

From birthdays to holidays, Mother’s Day, engagements, weddings, graduations, special achievements—the list goes on and on. People even like to give “get well” gifts and send gifts randomly to family and friends. 

But if you don’t live within a reasonable driving distance of the person you’re gifting, this can be a challenge. You have to rely on regular online shopping, which just isn’t quite the same as having a gift delivered in person.

A gift delivery app would operate similarly to a food delivery app. App users can simply select gifts from local stores and get them sent to the recipient in person. Regardless of each party’s location, a courier will hand a gift to the recipient. 

Charity Donation App

Collecting donations for a charity is easier if people can pay using their smartphones. 

Most people aren’t carrying much cash with them anymore. Even fewer people are carrying checkbooks. 

So charity collections outside of local grocery stores and events aren’t keeping up with modern technology trends. 

But a charity donation app solves this problem. You can collect donations by letting people scan a QR code in person to give money. Apps can also facilitate recurring donations from your users—automatically. 

Goal Tracking App

People are 42% more likely to achieve their goals if they’re written down. 

But what’s better than writing goals down? Using a mobile app to track and manage everything.

You can create an app that lets people track both short-term and long-term goals. They can add a goal in the app and monitor progress along the way. Each goal can even contain a checklist or milestone achievements that users can check off in real-time as they’re accomplished.

This can be used for personal goals, professional goals, education goals, fitness goals, and more. The possibilities here are endless. 

Meditation and Mindfulness App

Offer guided meditation and mindfulness exercises to help users reduce stress and improve their mental health. Users can choose from a variety of themes and durations, and can track their progress over time.

You can add features like daily reminders and a journaling function to help users incorporate mindfulness into their daily routines.

Gardening App

This app is perfect for green thumbs or those looking to get into gardening. It offers tips and advice on how to care for a variety of plants, including information on watering, fertilizing, and pruning.

Users can also create a virtual garden and track the progress of their real-life plants, as well as access a library of plant-specific care guides.

Meal Prep and Cooking App

Calling all chefs! This is your chance to share your recipes with the world.

You can create videos and upload instructions for all of your recipes. Categorize your recipes into folders like breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, vegan, gluten-free, pescatarian, keto, and more.

Use this as an opportunity to sell meal plans or create a digital recipe book. You can sell recipes for a one-time fee or offer collections of recipes on-demand for a monthly subscription. 

Real Estate App

You can create a mobile app to manage your real estate business.

Use your real estate agent app to schedule appointments, upload new listings, and add photos and videos of properties. The app can also serve as a contact management solution—a place where all communication is handled.

For property managers, the app can serve as a place to collect rent, manage applications, gather feedback, and handle all maintenance requests. 

If you’re in this industry and on the fence about building an app, you can refer to our guide on the top reasons why you need a real estate app for more information.

Pet Care Mobile Apps

This is a must-have mobile app for pet owners. It offers tips on how to care for a variety of pets, including information on feeding, grooming, and training.

You can provide quick access to a library of pet-specific care guides and let users create a profile for their own pets, including information on their breed, age, and medical history.

Virtual Event App

With the rise of remote work, virtual events have become more popular than ever. This app allows users to host and attend virtual events, including conferences, workshops, and networking events.

The app can display a calendar of upcoming events, event registration, and the ability to participate in live sessions and breakout rooms.

Tip Calculator App

Create an app that lets users calculate tips automatically. People can scan a receipt, and the tip calculator can take care of the rest.

This is also great for situations when you’re dining with a large group of people, since everyone has their mobile phones with them when they’re out to eat.

The app can calculate what everyone owes based on what they ordered and automatically include the tip amount for each person or group at the table. 

Final Thoughts

Great mobile app ideas may seem hard to come by. But there are tons of trending app ideas that you can use to make money.

Use this guide as inspiration and motivation for the next great mobile app idea.

Once you’ve narrowed down an idea, you still need to validate it. Check out our guide on how to validate your app idea and turn it into a reality. 

From there, you can follow our step-by-step tutorial on how to create an app. 

Sign up for a 14-day free trial to get started with BuildFire—the world’s most powerful app builder for iOS and Android.

The post 50 Best App Ideas For 2024 appeared first on BuildFire.

App creators and consumers no longer find themselves limited to the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Many other options and alternative app stores exist, and since such app stores are smaller than the Big Two, apps prove far more discoverable via these platforms.

Mobile app stores designed for specific niches and industries or for particular markets deserve your attention if you want more app downloads and better visibility. No matter the nature of your app, you want people to use it and interact with your brand.

Unfortunately, many mobile app stores have shut down over the last few years, creating confusion among both brands and consumers. That’s why we need an updated mobile app stores list so you know where to reach consumers in 2024.

Android Versus iOS

You’ll notice that the majority of mobile app stores in our list below focus exclusively on Android devices. There are a few reasons for the imbalance between Android and iOS.

For one thing, Android market share stands at just over 54 percent. For another, it’s a far more open platform, installed on devices ranging from Samsung and LG to the Google Pixel Motorola phones. Additionally, Google Play has certain limitations and restrictions that the other app stores don’t have, which makes the alternatives more appealing to certain consumers.

One of the exceptions, Cydia, is an online mobile app store designed specifically for jailbroken iOS devices. But we’ll go into that more below.

App Submission and Listings

Each of the mobile app stores we’re about to share with you has different processing for submitting apps and getting them listed in their marketplaces. Some are more restrictive than others, and a few are more focused on hyper-specific categories of apps, such as games.

Before you submit your app to an online marketplace or app store, read the submission guidelines carefully. Working with an experienced developer will ensure that your app meets minimum standards and can compete successfully against others of its type.

The Ultimate Mobile App Stores List

With those details out of the way, let’s look at our list of mobile app stores. We’ll start with the big two — Google Play and Apple App Store — and then look at the smaller, but no less viable, options for your mobile app.

Google Play Store

The Google Play Store, which hosts movies and other content as well as apps, was one of the first mobile app stores. It opened its doors in 2008 and exclusively targets the Android market. The platform boasts 2.6 million apps.

While the Google Play Store has a robust search engine that makes finding apps easy for consumers, brands sometimes find that their apps get buried in search results. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t list your app here — you should — but you also want to explore other Android-specific mobile app stores.

Apple App Store

For iOS users, the Apple App Store is often the first place to look for amazing new applications. According to Lifewire, the Apple App Store contains 2.1 million apps, though that number includes apps developed specifically for Apple TV and Apple Watch, among other products.

Building your app for both Android and iOS users gives your app the best potential for discovery. However, you’re looking at nearly 5 million competitors in these mobile app stores, which is why you might want to consider listing your app elsewhere.

Samsung Galaxy Apps

Many device manufacturers have discovered that they can integrate their customers more fully under their brands by offering mobile app stores of their own. The Samsung Galaxy Apps store is just one example.

Since Samsung can preload its own app store onto its Android devices, customers have the apps they want at their fingertips. Far fewer apps exist on marketplaces like this than on Google Play, so discoverability increases for app creators.

LG SmartWorld

LG has a similar mobile app store, called SmartWorld, that is automatically installed on LG phones. This app store also offers applications that are designed for LG TVs and other devices.

Huawei App Store

This mobile app store is primarily targeted to the Chinese market, with most app names and descriptions written in Chinese characters. Huawei is installed on many of the company’s devices and allows people in countries without access to the Play Store to download the apps they want to use.

Sony Apps

Like several of its competitors, the Sony Apps market is designed for people with Sony mobile devices who want to search natively on their phones or tablets without turning to Google Play. It’s geared primarily toward entertainment, but you can also find plenty of brand apps that offer other functionality, as well.

Amazon Appstore

It’s no surprise that ecommerce giant Amazon has branched into the app space. The Amazon Appstore hosts Android apps and comes preinstalled on devices like the Fire Phone and the Kindle Fire in place of the Play Store.

Remember that consumers take the road of least resistance to get what they want. If they already have the Amazon Appstore on their device, they’ll search for an app they want there first, before downloading another marketplace.

When your app appears for these customers, you save them the trouble of downloading more stores to their devices, which can help not only with brand recognition but also with brand loyalty.

Plus, consumers with any Android-powered device can download the Amazon Appstore. As we’ve seen in other areas of commerce, Amazon tends to dominate the spaces it infiltrates, so expect downloads to increase.

Aptoide

Many Android users choose Aptoide instead of the larger mobile app stores because of the ways it displays app listings. It’s highly intuitive and easy to navigate, which makes it an appealing alternative.

Additionally, Aptoide remains just as broad as the other mobile application stores. You can find games, productivity apps, store apps, and more. Since it isn’t niche-specific, other than catering exclusively to the Android OS, it’s a great choice for any brand with an app.

F-Droid

Consumers who appreciate open-source software feel magnetically drawn to F-Droid, which is, as of this writing, the only Android mobile app store to offer free and open-source apps in a marketplace.

It’s not the ideal choice for many brands because it flags any commercialized aspects of the app in the store. Additionally, the primary repository lists only apps that make their source code available.

However, F-Droid also allows users to create their own repositories, which might include apps from brands that enable features like user tracking with no pushback from the user base. Exploring the various repositories takes time, but it’s worth the effort if you want your app available to as many people as possible.

GetJar

The GetJar interface might look a little dated, but the simplicity of its website and mobile app store makes it a popular choice for both app developers and consumers. It’s an open app store, which means that it offers apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and other OSs.

This unique approach endears it to many consumers, especially those who own devices with different operating systems. For instance, Android phone users might have iPads or Apple TVs in their homes.

Over the years, GetJar’s open policy has made it vulnerable to people who upload apps infected with viruses. As long as you have anti-virus software installed on your device and you investigate apps before you download, however, you should stay safe.

ACMarket

Whether or not you want to host your app on ACMarket, you should be aware of this mobile app store’s existence. It’s designed specifically for cracked, hacked, or modded apps, which means that the apps found here have been altered to remove so-called “undesirable” features.

If you’re concerned that your app appears on ACMarket, you can investigate the situation and warn your user base should the need arise.

SlideME

As you can see, there are lots of mobile app stores for Android, and SlideME is no exception. It’s one of the most mainstreamed alternatives to Google Play Store and hosts both free and premium apps in its listings.

When it first launched, users complained about poor downloading and installation processes, but those quibbles have dramatically decreased. App creators can make their apps available to hundreds of thousands of users who prefer SlideME to Google Play Store.

Uptodown Market

This is another Android-specific mobile app store that also hosts applications for the Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu OSs. In terms of mobile apps, it rivals Google Play in a number of apps, app descriptions, and editorial reviews.

One of the primary unique selling propositions of Uptodown is that human beings filter all the apps submitted for listing in the marketplace, which can cut down on malware, viruses, and issues with fake descriptions.

Uptodown only offers free apps, which might make users more likely to search for content here rather than Google Play, and it has worldwide availability. Certain countries, including China, can’t access Google Play without a workaround, so Uptodown caters beautifully to those markets.

Itch.io

Although Itch.io caters almost exclusively to games and gamers, it’s still worth mentioning. Many brands have discovered that gamification makes their apps more appealing and more likely to be used, and incorporating gameplay into an app can make it more popular.

The great thing about Itch.io is that it was built for both developers and consumers, so it covers both bases beautifully. The interface isn’t as intuitive as some of the other alternatives on the market, but it possesses a clarity of purpose that makes it ideal for its audience.

Cydia

As mentioned above, Cydia is different from the other mobile app stores on this list. It’s designed specifically for iOS devices that have been jailbroken. Those devices can’t access apps on the Apple App Store, so consumers who purchase jailbroken phones or jailbreak their own phones often use Cydia.

neXva

Think of neXva as a mobile app stores with many different mobile app verticals that others have developed. It was built specifically for developers who want to control how their content is distributed among consumers, so it’s a highly useful part of any mobile app marketing strategy.

Bemodi

Originally known as the Opera Mobile Store, Bemodi is browser-specific to Opera and offers mobile app downloads via the web browser rather than a self-contained app. Consequently, it’s more useful to consumers who use Opera exclusively and who don’t want to load yet another app onto their devices.

AppBrain

AppBrain is simultaneously a collection of app promotion tools and a browser-based mobile app store. Brands can use AppBrain to make their apps more visible in various mobile app stores, including its own, as well as to drive more traffic to their app listings.

1Mobile

This Android-only online app store has been around for several years and developed an almost cult-like following. Although it focuses primarily on games and entertainment, it doesn’t discriminate when it comes to the types of apps it supports.

Appolicious

One of the selling points of Appolicious is that this mobile app store has very strict requirements about the specific apps that make it through its gatekeepers. Its goal is to provide the highest-quality free and paid apps on the marketplace, so getting your app listed here can improve visibility significantly.

Kongregate

Kongregate is one of the many mobile app stores that focuses on games and entertainment, yet has a robust selection of apps in other categories. Many consumers find their way to app stores because they’re looking for games, but discover brand-associated and other useful apps along the way.

Appland

Appland is designed for both app launches and app downloads, which makes it an ideal part of marketing any mobile app. Aside from ranking high amongst alternative Android app stores, it also offers support and functionality both Windows and iOS.

Chinese Market Mobile App Stores

Many mobile app stores have been created exclusively for the Chinese market. Although people in China and in other countries that can’t access Google Play can get mobile apps using a virtual private network, or VPN, many find it easier to use a Chinese app store instead.

If you plan to use these online mobile app stores, you’ll need to create Chinese-language versions of your app. Following are some of the most popular mobile app stores for the Chinese market:

• Tencent Myapp
• 360
• Baidu
• Oppo
• AppChina
• VIVO
• PP Assistant
• Wandoujia
• HiAPK
• Flyme
• HiMarket
• 2345
• Coolmart
• Anzhi Market
• MaoPao

If you’re looking for an alternative app store, Tencent is perhaps the most well-known of these, providing its huge user base to hundreds of thousands of high-quality apps from all over the world. It’s known interchangeably as Tencent, Myapp, and Tencent Myapp.

However, many of the other app stores have consolidated over the years, and although you can still access them individually, they’re actually part of the other markets.

This is where marketing your app in online app stores gets confusing because you don’t want multiple, competing listings. When you’re researching online app stores, check to see whether the parent company owns other stores on your list. That way, you’re not doing extra work for nothing.

Most of the Chinese-market mobile app stores support Android. A few also allow iOS apps to be distributed and downloaded, as well, though most don’t support Windows phones.

Designing Your Mobile App Stores Strategy

You don’t have to put your mobile app in every available store, but distributing your app widely, especially across other Android app stores, can increase downloads by a considerable margin. Plus, when consumers switch phones—and perhaps OSs—they’ll be more likely to take your app with them because there won’t be any barriers to entry.

Keep in mind, though, that all the submissions in the world won’t make your app discoverable. You have to optimize your app for search so consumers can find it easily.

Start with the name and description of your app. Think about what people might type in the app store to discover your app — keywords that best describe what your app does.

Make sure you fill out every field available through the app store you’ve chosen. Some app stores, for instance, allow you to attach keywords or tags to your app, while others do not. Customize your description and form fields for the app store you’re currently targeting.

Ask people who use your app via specific app stores to rank and review your app. Many mobile app stores take rankings into consideration when it comes to search results, so you don’t want to miss this opportunity.

Finally, optimize your thumbnail and images for the specific app store. Some publish recommended image ratios so that your images render properly. Pixelated or stretched images turn off consumers because they look unprofessional.

Final Thoughts

Building your mobile app is just the beginning. You need to keep track of the back end, submit it to mobile app stores, and make adjustments as technologies change. At BuildFire, we help take the guesswork out of building an app and provide a cost-efficient way to get your app released into the world.

Knowing what online app stores appeal to you most and making sure you’re submitting to the best ones will help your app spread far and wide. Ultimately, you want people to use your app for years to come, but first they have to download it.

There’s no single official app store. There are plenty of alternative app stores, third party app stores, Android app stores, and different app stores for you to choose from. Many smartphone and tablet manufacturers have launched their own app stores that you can take advantage of. Other apps on the marketplace, including popular apps take advantage of these as the low hanging fruit.

There’s lots of competition. Everyone wants their apps to be successful, so you have to take the extra step to ensure your app is available to anyone who wants it.

Which mobile app stores are most appealing to you? Why?

The post Ultimate Mobile App Stores List (2024) appeared first on BuildFire.

For the purposes of this resource, I’m going to skip over cookie-cutter types of mobile app builders. Technically, you don’t need to learn how to code use programming languages for that type of mobile app development platform. Check out our guide on the five ways to build apps for more information on those alternative methods.

Types of Mobile Apps

Before we continue, I just want to quickly cover the different types of app development from a coding perspective. Generally speaking, mobile app developers can build an app in one of these three categories:

Native Apps

Native app development is coded in a language that’s supported natively by the specific operating system of mobile devices. (Example: native iOS app vs. native Android app). This is used if you’re building an app specifically for the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

This is ideal for apps with a high level of customization that need to leverage native components of each device. It’s great for gaming apps, VR apps, and apps with extensive graphics. But one code won’t work on both platforms with native development.

Hybrid Apps

Hybrid apps are for cross-platform development. These are coded in a single language that can run on multiple on both iOS and Android.

This speeds up the development timeline as you’ll only have to code everything once, as opposed to twice (once for each OS). Compared to native, you’ll lose a little bit of the flexibility in terms of what you can do with hybrid apps. But this is fine for the vast majority of developers.

The most common topic you’ll hear when discussing mobile application development is the difference between native and hybrid apps. This has become the great debate for developers for quite some time now.

As I briefly mentioned above, native apps are built for a particular operating system. So if you want to develop an app for iOS and Android, you would need to build specifically for iOS and specifically for Android, separately.

There are pros and cons to this method, along with the others. We’ll take a closer look at the advantages and drawbacks of these app development methods as we continue through this guide.

PWA Apps

A PWA (progressive web app) is a lightweight app that runs in the URL of a device’s web browser. It looks and feels like a mobile app, but it’s not delivered natively on the device.

Developers who have experience with web development can easily create PWAs. You’ll should already be familiar with the coding languages used during the development process. So there’s not as much of a learning curve.

With that said, these apps will be a bit more limited in terms of the ability to use native device components.

Best Programming Languages for App Development

Let’s take a closer look at the top 14 coding languages for mobile applications. Each option has advantages and disadvantages depending on your skill level and intended use case. Regardless of your hardware and software, you can find coders and languages below that fit your needs.

iOS Programming Languages

The iOS platform was created by Apple. If you develop an iOS app, it will work across the Apple ecosystem like iPhones and iPads. Apps built using an iOS programming language can be made available on the Apple App Store for users to download.

In order to build an iOS app, you need to have an Apple developer account to get started. You’ll also need the Xcode IDE installed on a Mac computer (you can’t build and debug properly on a Windows computer).

Xcode comes with everything you need to create apps for all Apple devices. This development toolkit has a code editor, simulators, a debugger, and SDKs.

There are two native programming languages for iOS development—Objective-C and Swift.

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these Apple programming languages below.

Objective-C

Objective-C was the first programming language by Apple to support mobile applications on its platform. It’s an OO (object oriented programming language) that uses syntax from C and the object oriented aspects of SmallTalk.

The language isn’t very developer-friendly. One of the drawbacks is that the syntax feels clunky, and the square brackets can be tough to debug.

Swift

Swift was introduced in 2014 as an Apple programming language. It was eventually available for development in Xcode the following year.

This language has quickly become the developers’ preferred language when building an iOS app. If you’re getting started with iOS app development, this one of the best programming languages to consider. The usage of Objective-C has declined since Swift’s arrival. For any modern applications built on Apple, Swift is heavily encouraged.

Compared to Objective-C and other programming languages, Swift is easier and more compact. Any Apple developer who already knows how to build with Objective-C shouldn’t have any issues switching to Swift.

Programming Languages For Android App Development

Android is an open-source software development platform run by Google. While Google has its own mobile device options for phones and tablets, other manufacturers, like Samsung, Huawei, Microsoft, and more also produce phones and tablets that are powered by the Android OS.

To build an Android app, you need to get the Android development toolkit that has debuggers, emulators, and the required SDK. The best integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app development is Android Studio. This makes it easier if you’re developing mobile apps for Android. There are other options available, including cross platform app development tools (to build Android and iOS apps, and mobile apps for other operating systems) but Android Studio is definitely the most popular for Android app development.

Android IDEs can typically be run on any OS, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Let’s take a closer look at two Android programming languages—Java and Kotlin.

Java

Since Android was officially launched in 2008, Java has been the default development language to write Android apps. This object-oriented language was initially created back in 1995.

While Java has its fair share of faults, it’s still the most popular language for Android development since it runs on a virtual machine. As an object oriented option for mobile development, Java is commonly used to develop Android apps.

Most of the other Android languages are considered a version of Java or a flavor of Java.

Kotlin

Google announced that it would start supporting the Kotlin programming language in 2017. It’s an alternative language to traditional Java for Android development, and it runs on the Java Virtual Machine. Even as a new language, it’s very popular.

Kotlin and Java are interoperable, meaning they can make use of the same information. All of your Java libraries can be accessed with Kotlin. From an execution standpoint, the Kotlin language complies with Java Bytecode. Overall, it’s considered a neater and cleaner version of Java.

Native Development App Programming Languages

As I said before, all of the programming languages for native mobile apps. have their pros and cons. Whether you’re using Objective-C or Swift for Apple or using Java or some other flavor of Java (like Kotlin) for Android, these are the benefits and drawbacks.

Native Programming Pros:

• Most control over the device
• Low-level coding for cutting edge technologies that are added on to the device
• Fastest access to latest and greatest features through your language
• Fastest in execution bottom line

Native Programming Cons:

• Slowest to develop
• Most costly development method
• Takes highest skilled and specialized mobile app developers to build for iOS and Android
• High barrier to entry

While native programming languages give you the most control over your app, they are difficult to learn and take a long time to develop. Unless you’re building a highly specialized app, you probably won’t need to go the native route.

Hybrid Programming Languages

Hybrid applications are developed once, but written with a programming language that works for multiple platforms.

Most commonly, a single development will work for both iOS and Android. Although some hybrid languages extend their functionality to other platforms, like progressive web apps (PWA) or mobile web apps. This is nice to have for those of you moving into a more web-friendly environment.

When you’re building a hybrid application or want to develop cross platform apps, you’re generally dealing with some sort of JavaScript-based language, framework, or toolkit. Hybrid apps work on varying mobile devices.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these options below.

C#

Developed by Microsoft, C# (pronounced C sharp) is another object-oriented programming language. It’s a popular programming language for game development and command line scripting for Android operating systems.

Other low-code types of alternatives like OutSystems and Kony have an SDK that can be used with different languages, not just one. There are other languages for mobile app development that use system programming language with syntax similar to C#.

Using an IDE for hybrid development, the C# code is cross-compiled to run natively on iOS and Android devices.

Xamarin

Microsoft eventually acquired the Xamarin framework, which allows app developers to program using C# against other frameworks. Technically, Xamarin isn’t a language. It’s an open-source development platform for iOS, Android, and Windows applications.

It’s a .NET platform that uses C# as its core language.

React Native

Reactive Native uses JavaScript to communicate with pre-built functionality that is native to their framework. This allows you to manipulate the UI, collect data, and retrieve data so you can present it to the user.

Basically, this means that you’re heavily relying on JavaScript to manipulate native components. Programming a mobile app this way has its pros and cons.

Appcelerator

Like Reactive Native, Appcelerator also uses JS to communicate with functions to a native framework. Appcelerator Titanium makes it possible to create native apps for iOS, Android, and Windwows.

Appcelerator Pros:

• Using Java to manipulate something native
• Access native functionality directly from JavaScript

Appcelerator Cons:

• Doesn’t tap into things like HTML5 or CSS, which are technologies that are generally used with anybody developing in JavaScript to freely manipulate their own user interface

The barrier of entry to learning this programming method is around a medium level.

Cordova/PhoneGap

Cordova/PhoneGap and Ionic type frameworks are really just built on top of the Apache Cordova programming language. Hybrid mobile application development using this programming language are built by porting over a web experience into a native experience.

What does this mean?

This method allows you to build just like you would do for a website. So if you’re a web developer, you’ll feel right at home here. It uses Javascript, HTML, and CSS. That web environment is ported over natively to iOS and Android. The final software will work on multiple types of mobile devices.

Pros:

• Low barrier to entry
• Anyone with a web development background can easily start programming this way
• Learning curve is easy

Cons:

• Giving up a little bit of frame rate

If you’re developing mobile games, a machine learning native app, or augmented reality (AR) native app, this solution probably isn’t best programming language for you. Both of those require a higher frame rate.

PWA Programming Languages

Progressive web apps offer app-like functions from a mobile site. It’s a fast and reliable alternative to traditional mobile websites. Unlike a website, web applications can operate offline, and access native device capabilities (like camera, GPS, etc.).

Here are some of the programming languages you can use for PWA:

Ruby

Ruby is a general-purpose programming language that can be used for a wide range of use cases, including PWAs. Lots of developers rely on Ruby for web applications because of its simplicity.

The language has been around since 1990, and continues to be favorite in the development community today.

While shipping code with Ruby is easy, finding bugs and debugging errors is not always as simple. So just keep that in mind if you’re going this route.

Python

Python is another general-purpose coding language. It’s an object-oriented language that gives developers the flexibility for small and large-scale deployments alike.

In addition to PWAs, Python is commonly used for data analytics, data visualization, websites, task automation, and other types of software.

Most developers would agree that Python is a bit more challenging than Java. It has a steeper learning curve compared to other languages in this category.

CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a rule-based language. It helps describe the presentation of code that’s written in markup languages, like HTML.

You can’t create a PWA with CSS alone. But you’ll likely use it as an addition to your JS or HTML code.

JavaScript

If you have web development experience, using JavaScript to create a PWA might be the best option for you. You can use JS on top of HTML and alongside CSS to create your web application from scratch.

Compared to other options for PWA, this has a lower barrier to entry for those of you who have some basic technical knowledge and coding experience. But it’s not quite as flexible as a Ruby or Python for PWA.

PHP

PHP is a general scripting language that was first introduced in 1994. While it has several potential use cases, PHP can also be used to assist PWA.

With that said, it’s not necessarily the best option. You can use PHP on the backend for application, but you’d still want to serve HTML, CSS, and JS on the front end. Using PHP to just create a website wouldn’t have the same look, feel, and capability as a traditional PWA.

In short, PHP alone won’t deliver a progressive web application. But the lots of your work can still be written in PHP.

Choosing the Right Programming Language

As you can see, each programming language has its pros and cons. You can’t definitively say that one is better than another. It all depends on the app type, budget, timeline, and technical knowledge.

Native development is typically the most expensive and most challenging to learn. But it’s necessary for certain types of apps, like gaming apps.

Hybrid languages are easier to learn for users who have some technical knowledge and web development experience. You can get your app to market quickly with this method since you won’t have to use two deployments.

In addition to choosing a specific language, you’ll need to choose your approach. We have a complete guide that breaks down the differences between synchronous vs. asynchronous programming to help you decide between these two popular methods.

When to Use a Coding App

Coding apps like Grasshopper, Sololearn, and Mimo are all excellent options for beginners. So if you’re just starting your journey as a developer, you’ll definitely find these tools helpful.

Alternatively, you can use an app builder to create an app without writing a single line of coding. No-code app creators like BuildFire make it possible for anyone, regardless of technical knowledge, to create an app for iOS and Android simultaneously.

Unless you want to become a developer, using an app creator is the best option. The time it will take you to learn different programming languages probably isn’t worth the investment if you just need to create one app for your business. Even if you do learn how to code, your first app likely won’t be ready for real users.

MBaaS (Mobile Backend as a Service)

All of the hybrid frameworks and native programming language to build mobile apps all have two things in common—they all need to be built from scratch, and they are all missing a major component.

Anybody who has developed a mobile application in the past understands that the app itself is only a portion of the entire environment and the total solution. You’ll also need a massive mobile backend as a service—better known as MBaaS.

What do you need an MBaaS for? Here are a few examples:

• Host your data
• Host user profiles
• Compile analytics
• Send push notifications

The list goes on and on. These are all servers living in the cloud that you need to develop as well to support your application. Unless you’re building a simple app, like a calculator, you generally need some type of user authentication, database, CMS, etc.

BuildFire JS

This is where the BuildFire JS comes into play.

The BuildFire JS framework allows you to build just like you would in a Cordova Hybrid platform. You can use web technology like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. But this framework doesn’t force you to build everything from scratch.

Things like authentication and push notifications are built on top of an existing platform. That platform has all of the typical functionality that most apps need, like user logins, password reset functionality, access to databases, access to CMS platforms, and so on.

With the BuildFire JS, you only need to build what is unique to your specific application.

Analytics servers, databases, push notification servers, API gateways, and so much more are all part of the massive MBaaS provided by BuildFire.

All of this is bundled in an open-source environment that allows people to constantly add new features to the platform. You can integrate those features into your app without the worry of security problems or licensing.

Once all is said and done, and you’ve developed your app with BuildFire, there’s a backend control panel that allows you to administer your app over the air without having to deal with the hurdles of publishing and upgrades.

Since your app is built on a platform with an MBaaS, you won’t have to worry about any new policies, regulations, compliance issues, features, and more on iOS and Android. BuildFire makes sure that your app stays compliant.

Final Thoughts: Best Programming Languages

What’s the best programming language for mobile app development?

There is no right or wrong answer to what programming language you should learn or what framework you should invest in. The best programming languages for me and my mobile apps might not be the best for you and your app development scenario. All of the options listed in this guide are good and valid choices to consider. They each have pros and cons. There are even additional programming languages for mobile app development, like Python for server-side programming, and more.

You just need to find out what’s best for you, your business, and your goals.

What type of application are you building? What does the application need? Where do you want to put the most effort? Do you want to develop it once or multiple times? What mobile device will the end-user be on? Are you building for multiple platforms?

What about data access control, statistically typed programming language, or interpreted programming language?

Will you be leveraging any low-code/no-code development tools?

These are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself to determine where your time, effort, and resources are best served. At the end of the day, just make sure you can go to market quickly with the best possible app.

The post 14 Programming Languages for Mobile App Development appeared first on BuildFire.

While simulators are great, some features don’t quite work the same unless you’re using an iPhone.

For example, maybe you want to send an SMS message from your iOS application. Or maybe you want to test the app’s compatibility with an iPhone camera. You can’t do this from your Mac.

In addition to testing for functionality, running your app on an iPhone for the first time can also help with debugging. Xcode even has a built-in debugger tool that helps you identify bugs and problems directly within the source editor. 

Ready to start testing your iOS apps? This guide will show you how.

What is Xcode?

Let’s start with the basics. If you’re new to development and haven’t started building anything yet, you might have some questions about Xcode and how it works. 

We have an in-depth tutorial on how to code Xcode that’s written for complete beginners. I strongly suggest giving it a read for a full explanation of how Xcode works. But I’ll quickly summarize the key highlights below before we continue with the testing instructions.

Xcode is an integrated development environment, better known as an IDE. It’s the official IDE for Apple that’s used to create, test, and debug apps for iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV.

Xcode is also great for team collaboration. So your entire development team can work together on the app and ensure it’s ready for testers before deployment. It’s much easier to use Xcode for testing and debugging apps before they’re added to the app store.

Testing on a Simulator vs. Real Device

App development isn’t complete until the application has been fully tested. There are several different ways to test mobile apps, but these options can generally be segmented into two categories—simulators and real devices.

Simulators let you run applications that weren’t intended for your computer’s operating system. Developers can use iOS simulators to test their code on an iPhone or iPad without actually running the app on one of those devices. 

Some simulators double as emulators, which mimic the capabilities of real devices beyond a simulation. You can even find simulators that support both iOS and Android for testing multiple versions of your app.
Xcode has a built-in simulator that’s great for testing during the early stages of development. This allows you to run a simulation without having to lay out the user interface.

You just need to configure your settings and click the run button on your toolbar. 

Then select what type of device you want to simulate your app on. This can be selected from the run destination menu of the toolbar.

If you want to test the app using an older iOS version, you can click “Add Additional Simulators” at the bottom of this pop up menu.

Again, simulators are fine for certain aspects of testing—especially in the early stages. But they can’t really show you the user interface and how your app flows when it’s really being used on a device. That’s why you’re better off testing on an iPhone in the later stages of development before the app gets pushed to the App Store. 

Simply put, simulators aren’t ideal if you need to run a UI test. But they’re fine for running unit tests, which verifies that the code written will work as it’s expected to.

Setting Up to Run Xcode On a Real Device

Before you test your mobile app on an actual iOS device, you need to make sure that everything in your Xcode project is configured properly. Then you’ll be able to run the app on an iPhone without having to write any extra code.

Grab your device, and connect it to your Mac.

If you’re testing a macOS version for an iPad application, then you’ll also need to choose a scheme. Xcode app schemes are essentially settings that clarify the build configurations, targets, and executable environment. 

To choose a real device for testing, you’re going to follow the same steps you took earlier for selecting an iOS simulator. Only this time, you’re going to choose the connected iPhone from the run destination menu for device management in Xcode.

Similar to what we described earlier, you’ll just click the run button to proceed after you’ve selected the connected iPhone.

With the device connected, Xcode will automate the process, install the app, and attach the debugger. Once this happens, the app should appear on your phone. From here, you can navigate to the debug area of Xcode to test your app. This is an opportunity for you to examine variables and debug any errors.

If your build is unsuccessful, you can view any error messages or warnings in the Issue Navigator. You can do this by selecting “Navigators” from the “View” menu and choosing “Show Issue Navigator.” Any messages will appear here. 

How Do I Test My App on My iPhone?

Here’s a quick summary of the requirements for testing apps on iPhone using Xcode:

• You need to plug the iPhone into the Mac that’s running Xcode.
• Then you must download the app to your Mac.
• When you select a real device in Xcode for testing, you need to add your Apple ID in the Accounts preferences of your project editor.
• If you’re part of the Apple Developer Program, you must register the device before running the app. 
• You can also pair Xcode with iOS and tvOS apps if that device is on the same network as Xcode. When you open Xcode, any paired devices should appear on the toolbar.

Final Thoughts on Using an Xcode Test App on iPhone

I hope you found this tutorial on testing your Xcode app on iPhone helpful. 

To bypass these steps and avoid unnecessary headaches, you can use BuildFire as an alternative solution. The BuildFire SDK is developer-friendly—allowing you to create new app features using Javascript, HTML, and CSS using your preferred framework. 

BuildFire gives developers the ability to build on top of our existing infrastructure, which saves a ton of time and money during the Apple development process. 

If you’re a complete beginner who doesn’t have any coding experience, there’s really no reason to learn Xcode and test your apps on your own. Unless you want to become an iOS developer, it’s much easier to let BuildFire create an app for you. Check out our full-service app development solution, BuildFire Plus, for more information. 

For those of you who are still early on in the development process, read our step-by-step guide on How to Make an App to learn more.

The post How to Test Your App on an iPhone Using Xcode appeared first on BuildFire.

The App Store is definitely the best option for mass distribution. But if you’re creating an internal mobile app for your business or custom apps for B2B purposes, you may want to keep the app private and only available for certain users.

Think about it—you wouldn’t want a random person to access an app built for your employees, right? In this scenario, you need more control over each mobile device that the app gets installed on. The public App Store isn’t an option.

This simple guide will show you exactly how to distribute your iOS app without using the Apple App Store. Let’s dive in.

Distribute iOS App Without App Store

Most iOS apps are made for the Apple App Store. But the App Store is public and gives anyone with an iOS device the opportunity to download. 

According to Statista, more than 43 billion apps will be downloaded from the App Store in 2025.

As you can see from the graph, the Google Play Store is projected to have more than four times the number of app downloads that same year. This is largely due to Android dominating the global market share. 

But it’s also worth noting that Apple has a much stricter approval process for developers that want to publish an app to the App Store.

This same concept holds true for private app distribution. Compared to Android, distributing apps outside of the App Store is much more complicated for iOS apps. Apple does offer a few options for specific use cases. But the direct download and installation of any iOS binary files is strictly prohibited by Apple. 

Apple’s Solutions for Alternative App Distribution

There are three ways to distribute an iOS app without the App Store:

• Apple Developer Program — The Apple Developer program makes it possible to distribute apps for testing purposes only.
• Apple Developer Enterprise Program — The Apple Enterprise Program is intended for organizations that want to distribute apps internally and privately to employees.
• Volume Purchase Program for Enterprises — The VPP app deployment method allows organizations to create a private app store to manage apps in bulk, typically used for custom B2B apps and MDM (mobile device management).

We’ll discuss each of these distribution methods in greater detail below, so you can find the best alternative to Apple App Store distribution.

Beta App Distribution Using the Apple Apple Developer Program

This iOS app distribution method is designed specifically for testing. Developers can distribute a prerelease version of an app to a specific group of people for beta testing purposes. 

You must have an Apple Developer Program account to do this. The Apple Developer Program membership costs $99 per year. Nonprofits, government entities, and educational institutions might be eligible for a fee waiver.

This is the only scenario where an app intended for a mass audience can be distributed privately. But the distribution is only allowed during the testing stage and limited to a certain number of devices. Beta distributions are limited to 100 iPhones, 100 iPads, and 100 iPod touch installations. 

Releasing your app to beta testers won’t be the same as distributing a fully complete, fully functioning, ready-for-release app. 

It’s important to know that your app is protected from being copied or redistributed during the beta testing distribution. 

Ad-Hoc Deployment Using the Apple Developer Program

For private beta testing or temporary distribution, Apple allows developers to use the Ad-hoc app deployment method. In this scenario, the developer will deliver the app binary to each unique user via a download URL or email. 

To ensure the app binary works on the intended device, developers are required to register each device to the Apple Member Center and include the UDID for the device. App binaries will not run on an iOS device until the registration has been completed. This process protects your app from being duplicated or redistributed without your approval. 

You’ll see this option in Xcode when generating the IPA, open the Organizer, and navigate to Archives.

Pros of Ad-Hoc Deployment

• No need for iOS approval process
• App is private and cannot be installed by the public
• Apple Developer Account profile is valid for one year

Cons of Ad-Hoc Deployment

• Limited to 100 devices
• Manually UDID registration is required for each device with a provisioning profile

Upgrading to the Apple Developer Enterprise Program

The Apple Developer Enterprise Program is designed for large organizations that want to distribute internal apps to employees. The Enterprise Program allows for internal distribution through secured internal systems or through MDM (mobile device management) solutions.

Unlike a regular App Store Connect account, not everyone is eligible for an enterprise account. It’s only for internal use of proprietary apps in scenarios that can’t be addressed through the public Apple App Store, Apple Business Manager, beta testing, or Ad Hoc distribution. The app must be developed by the organization and specifically for use on Apple platforms.

Other eligibility requirements include:

• Minimum of 100+ employees.
• Must be a legal entity (no DBAs, trade names, fictitious names, etc.)
• Program must be used for internal in-house apps for employees.
• Must have measures to ensure the app is only available for employees and all membership credentials are protected.
• Must pass Apple’s verification process and continuous evaluations. 

Pricing for a Developer Enterprise Program account costs $299 per year for a distribution certificate. If you’re already enrolled in the Apple Developer Program for distributing apps through the public Apple App Store, you’ll need a separate Apple ID for the Enterprise Program.

In-House Deployment With the Apple Developer Enterprise Program

The in-house deployment option is great for larger organizations that want to distribute custom internal apps for employees. This can be a useful initiative for your citizen developer program. It also helps corporations get more control over app security and device security through MDM—mobile device management. 

Pros

• No App Store approval process
• You have full control over who can access and use the app
• Ideal for internal distribution to employees

Cons

• Only for larger businesses
• Strict eligibility requirements

Apple’s Volume Purchase Program (VPP) for B2B App Distribution

The Volume Purchase Program, VPP, makes it possible for organizations and educational institutions to buy corporate apps in bulk and deploy them to iPhones, iPads, and Macs within the organization. 

For example, a school that provides students with Macbooks can use the VPP to pre-install different applications on those devices prior to distribution. 

The Volume Purchase Program also supports custom B2B apps that can be distributed through a private app store instead of the public Mac App Store.

Larger organizations could use this program to share apps with other businesses, vendors, and partners that work closely with the company. 

This is another scenario where you can create custom apps and distribute them privately without going through the App Store. Let’s say you create a custom business workflow app that involves vendors working with your company. You could grant them access to the app through a private app store using the VPP. It’s also common for organizations to use this distribution method for MDM. 

Note: The Volume Purchase Program is no longer available as of January 14, 2021

You can upgrade to Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager to access similar benefits offered through the VPP. See more information from Apple here.

Android App Distribution Without Google Play

While we’re on the subject of distributing apps without app stores, I wanted to quickly touch base on how the Android app development and Google Play process is different from alternative distribution methods. 

As previously mentioned, the iOS process is a bit difficult. It’s much more straightforward to distribute Android apps without going through the Google Play Store. 

You can do this through a direct webpage link or direct email for download. Android apps are also easier to distribute through a third-party app marketplace. 

Refer to this Android developers resource on alternative distribution options for more information. 

iOS App Distribution Methods in Summary

Most developers will want to use the Apple App Store for iOS app distribution. This is the best way to get your app in the hands of the widest possible audience.

But there are some scenarios that require an app to be kept private. Distributing internal employee apps or private business apps is the most common reason to avoid the App Store. 

Some apps just aren’t made for public use. If you fall into this category, you can use the Apple Developer Program or Apple Developer Enterprise Program as a solution. The former is best for beta testing, and the latter is intended for the internal distribution of an enterprise app.

Interested in creating an internal workforce app for your business?

We can help. BuildFire’s custom app development solutions are perfect for larger organizations and enterprises. We’ve built workforce apps for compliance, employee communication, business workflows, field sales, field service workers, employee safety, HR, employee onboarding, scheduling, and more. Reach out for a free consultation and book a strategy session to learn more.

The post How to Distribute an iOS App Without Using App Stores appeared first on BuildFire.

First, you need to publish your app to the App Store so it’s available for download.

The two major app stores are the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store—one for iOS and one for Android. But each platform has its own unique guidelines, rules, and submission requirements. 

This guide is going to focus specifically on publishing an iOS app to the Apple App Store. Once the app is published here, it can be downloaded on an iPhone or iPad.

It’s worth noting that Apple is very particular with its submission guidelines. You’ll need an Apple Developer account, and the App Store listing must match the app’s functionality. There are lots of other small details that Apple takes into consideration before they’ll approve apps.

That’s because Apple wants to protect its users. Apple wants its user base to feel comfortable knowing that any app downloaded from the Apple App Store is safe and won’t break their devices.

Read on to learn how to publish an app on the App Store with ease.

Where to Start: Submitting an iOS App to the App Store

Submitting your iOS app to the App Store is the final stage of development. By now, the app should already be built, tested thoroughly, and you should have an app name that you’re confident in using. 

If your app is still in development, there’s nothing wrong with looking ahead toward the App Store submission. Just know that it’s too early to take any of these steps. Apple won’t approve any unfinished apps to the store, even if you have all of the other app information required for the listing. 

You should also consider the legal prerequisites of launching a mobile app. For example, if you’re launching an app in EU markets, the app must comply with GDPR guidelines. If you’re going to offer app purchases and collect payments through the app, you’ll need to think about things like PCI compliance as well. 

How you’re collecting, handling, and sharing user data is really important here. You should refer to the official Agreements and Guidelines for Apple Developers to ensure you’re following all of the appropriate requirements regarding user data. 

App submissions must only have content that was either created by you or that you have the proper authority to use. If you’re using content from another source without the proper legal licenses or permissions, it can be grounds for either rejecting your app from the App Store or getting it removed from the App Store.

You’ll need to have an Apple Developer account and Apple ID as well. Submitting your app from a computer running on macOS is not a requirement, but it’s definitely common considering the software and tools you’ll be using.

For example, if you’re using Xcode to create iOS apps for iPhone and iPad, you can take steps to prepare your app for publishing directly in the IDE.

App Store Submission Requirements

Before we get into the steps required for publishing, you need to understand the App Store guidelines for app submission.

You can review all of the App Store review guidelines here. These are some important points to keep in mind:

• Developers are responsible for making sure everything in the app complies with Apple’s guidelines, including analytics services, third-party SDKs, ad networks, and more.
• Attempting to cheat the review system or manipulate ratings is grounds to remove your app and kick you out of the developer program.
• You must comply with Apple’s guidelines regarding apps for kids.
• Apps may not include objectionable content (discrimination, explicit materials, etc.).
• The app’s privacy policy must comply with all Apple guidelines. 
• Apps must be complete and fully functional before you submit them for review.
• Apple has certain technical requirements and software standards that must be followed.
• You may not just copy another app and make subtle changes to pass it off as your own.
• Apps must have minimum functionality that goes beyond a mobile website.

In total, the App Store Review Guidelines are quite lengthy. There are five major categories—safety, performance, business, design, and legal. Each section is broken down into different subsections, like this:

So give yourself ample time to review this document in detail before you go through the steps for submission.

6 Steps to Submit and Publish an iOS App

The App Store publishing process can be summarized in just six steps. 

1. Sign up for the Apple developer program
2. Prepare the app for submission
3. Create a listing via App Store Connect
4. Capture App Store screenshots
5. Upload the app using Xcode
6. Submit the app to be reviewed by Apple

We’ll cover each step in greater detail below:

Step 1 — Join the Apple Developer Program

You must be a member of the Apple Developer Program to submit an app to the App Store. So if you haven’t done so already, sign up for an Apple developer account. 

If you’re enrolling as an individual or sole proprietor, you can sign in using your Apple ID and enable two-factor authentication. Apple will ask you for some personal information, like your legal name and address.

To enroll in the developer program as an organization, you’ll also need an Apple ID with two-factor authentication enabled. In addition to the Apple ID, enrollment requires:

• D-U-N-S Number
• Legal Entity Status
• Legal Binding Authority
• Website

Just click “Start Your Enrollment” on this page to get started.

The membership pricing starts at $99 per year, and it gives you access to other exclusive Apple developer tools and services. 

You can use the account to manage your apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. The membership also comes with beta software, app analytics, testing tools, and everything you need to manage your App Store listing. 

Apple developers also have access to TestFlight—a way to collect feedback from up to 10,000+ testers before submitting the app to the App Store. You can invite them with an email address or public link.

Step 2 — Prepare the App for Submission

Identifying bugs and problems with your app before submitting it to the app store is just one aspect of app development. There are other things you must do to get it ready for review.

First, you need to set the bundle ID in Xcode. This is used to uniquely identify your app in the system. Xcode will give you a default identifier when you create a project from a template, but it’s important to create one that’s unique. Just be aware that you cannot change the bundle ID after it’s been uploaded to App Store Connect. 

You can adjust these settings in the “General” menu of your project editor in Xcode.

Next, you need to configure your app version number and build string. The version number will appear in the App Store, and it’s expected to be in a format of [Major].[Minor].[Patch], such as 9.12.1.

Apple requires you to set an app category with your submission. This is designed to help users discover your app in the App Store. Options include:

• Books
• Business
• Developer Tools
• Music
• Medical
• Navigation
• Education
• News
• Finance
• Photo & Video
• Productivity
• Food & Drink
• Reference
• Games
• Graphics & Design
• Shopping
• Social Networking
• Lifestyle
• Sports
• Kids
• Travel
• Magazines & Newspapers
• Utilities
• Weather

Primary categories must match the primary purpose and function of your app. Choosing a category that doesn’t fit your app’s functionality is against Apple’s guidelines and grounds for removal. 

You need to prepare an app icon and provide a launch screen as well. The launch screen is the UI that appears when your app launches and quickly disappears when the first screen loads. The purpose of a launch screen is to enhance the UX by offering some visuals while the app is loading. 

Review all of Apple’s official guidelines to prepare your app for distribution. 

Step 3 — Create a Listing via App Store Connect

The App Store Connect is where members of the Apple Developer Program can upload apps, submit apps, and manage apps post-launch. It comes with everything from sales reports to analytics, test resources, and more. 

Here’s a quick overview of how to create a listing for App Store Connect:

• Log into your account
• Select the “+” button from the “My Apps” menu
• Add the platform (iOS), primary language, bundle ID, and SKU
• Add the app name and category
• Provide a URL to your app’s privacy policy
• Choose your app’s pricing

You’ll also have the option to decide how your app is released after the review information is approved. 

You can manually sign back into App Store Connect and release it when you’re ready, or set it to be published on a certain date (assuming it passes certification). Apple gives you the option to select the app to be released immediately following its approval as well. 

Note: These same steps work whether you have an App Store Connect Organization account or Individual account.

Step 4 — Capture App Store Screenshots

Now it’s time to prepare your screenshots for the App Store. There are two basic approaches here that you can follow. You can either use raw screenshots from your app or use a mockup template to showcase your app.

These screenshots are the perfect way to help showcase to the world what your app does and how it works when they find you in the App Store. 

Here’s an example of how Delta Airlines uses app screenshots to showcase its top features:

Apple does have a lot of different screenshot specifications for app previews that you must take into consideration. That’s because they have so many different devices on the market.

iPhones range from 4.7-inch screens to 6.5 inches. iPads range all the way up to 12.9 inches.

You can view all of Apple’s screenshot specifications here. I also recommend reviewing this API collection resource for app screenshots for more technical requirements.

Step 5 — Upload the App Using Xcode

Now it’s time to actually upload your app from Xcode. Do not proceed with this step until you’re confident that the app is free of bugs and it runs as intended. If the app doesn’t function, it won’t get approved for the App Store. 

For new apps, the version should be set to 1.0.0. 

Xcode 11 makes the publishing process really easy. In the past, lots of extra steps were required. But not most of the work now gets handled in a couple of clicks. 

Start by creating a full app archive. Go to your list of simulators in Xcode and select “Generic iOS Device” from the menu. 

Then select “Product” and “Archive.” This will prompt Xcode to bundle your app. Depending on the size, this could take quite a bit of time. 

Once this process is complete, just go to the “Archives” tab, and click “Distribute App” on the right side of your screen. Then select “iOS App Store” when it asks for your method of distribution.

Xcode will go through a few steps to ensure you’re not trying to upload a broken app. If something is missing or there’s a problem, Xcode will likely stop the upload and ask you to add missing assets. 

You should see some type of confirmation on the screen when the upload is successful. 

Step 6 — Submit the App for Review

By now, the archive from Xcode has been sent to App Store Connect. But you still might have to wait until App Store Connect actually processes the upload. So don’t freak out if it’s not showing up in your account right away. 

You should get an email when the archive is officially processed and ready for you. This can save you some time so you don’t have to keep manually checking.

Once it’s available, just select the archive and click the “Submit for Review” button at the top right of the page.

According to Apple, 50% of mobile apps get reviewed within 24 hours and 90% are reviewed in 48 hours. So assuming your submission is complete, there’s a good chance you’ll have an answer within two days.

The app’s status will get updated upon review, and you’ll receive a notification with the status change. 

Conclusion

Publishing an iOS app and going through the Apple review process might seem a bit intimidating, especially if you’ve never done this before. But if you create an app with BuildFire, we’ll handle the publishing process on your behalf.  This is the easiest way to publish apps.

You’ll still need to create your own Google and Apple Developer accounts, but our team will handle the majority of the heavy lifting. So you won’t have to worry about most of the steps in this guide.

If you’re still in the planning stages of your app project, request a consultation to see if BuildFire is the right partner to achieve your goals. 

The post How to Publish an App to the App Store appeared first on BuildFire.

The great part about Xcode is its versatility for iOS development and building applications across different Apple devices. It supports development for iOS apps, macOS apps, tvOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. 

New to Xcode? That’s why we created this guide.

This in-depth Xcode tutorial is designed for complete beginners. It explains everything you need to know about Xcode, how it works, and how to learn Xcode.

What is Xcode?

Xcode is Apple’s official IDE (integrated development environment). It was released in 2003 specifically for building software on Apple platforms. 

IDEs are centralized environments that consolidate the different aspects of building software. Unlike other IDEs, Xcode is only available for Mac, and it’s an all-in-one solution to build and code an app. 

An Apple developer can use Xcode to create apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. It’s most commonly used for iOS app development (creating a mobile app).

Swift 5.5 and SDKs for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 are all included with Xcode 13.

Xcode is the only official tool for creating and publishing apps on the Apple App Store. It’s designed for beginners and experienced developers alike.

Xcode comes with all of the tools and resources you need to create an app within a single source of truth—including a compiler, text editor, and name system. This makes it possible to not only write and compile but also debug an app. 

Once you’re done writing code, you can submit your app to the App Store with ease. 

Xcode contains lots of great tools that help streamline the development process, making it easy for experienced developers to push apps out quickly. But it’s also a user-friendly IDE, so the learning curve isn’t as steep for beginners.

This is the only official way to create apps by Apple. Xcode comes with excellent debugging tools that make it easy for developers to troubleshoot problems faster. The platform also comes with project management resources to help you stay organized with coding files, image assets, and everything else you need to create a great app.

Xcode Requirements

Before you start a new Xcode project or try to install Xcode, it’s important for you to understand the platform requirements. Xcode is only available for Mac users running a version of macOS 10.14.4 or later. You’ll need at least 7.6 GB of hard drive space to download Xcode as well. 

For those of you who don’t meet these requirements, there are some alternative methods you can try for writing Xcode in older Mac visions or PCs. But with that said, this is generally not something that we recommend. 

Getting a Mac is your best option here. The workarounds for other devices can be tricky and could not only impact your experience but also affect your app.

Is Xcode Good For Beginners?

To clarify, Xcode is an IDE (integrated development environment). It just provides developers with a user interface for writing code. As a programmer or developer, you still need to have a basic understanding of programming languages before you can start using this interface builder and code editor.

Xcode is a tool that helps you write code for Apple platforms, but it won’t teach beginners how to write app code. You still need to learn that on your own.

A complete beginner with no prior coding knowledge could not download Xcode and immediately start to create apps. With that said, once you have the coding knowledge, Xcode has a friendly UI that’s easy for beginners to navigate and understand. 

What’s the Best Way to Learn Xcode?

The best way for beginners to learn Xcode is through Apple’s own documentation. If you’re starting from scratch, Apple has excellent developer resources that will teach you how to code. 

It’s in your best interest to learn Swift—the official programming language to build apps for the Apple App Store and Mac App Store.  

The great part about using a Swift tutorial from Apple is that you’ll be learning to code and building a foundation for navigating Xcode simultaneously. 

Swift Playgrounds is another option to consider. This is an iPad app that teaches you how to code and create apps with Swift. You can also explore app forums, Udemy, Codetree, and other online resources that can teach you about Xcode, Swift, and source code.

How Does Xcode Work

The first thing you need to do is install Xcode. To start a new app project in Xcode, you’ll need to select a template for the platform you want the app to run on. Then choose the type of app you want to create (game, single view, document based, etc.).

Starting with the right Xcode template is a crucial step to ensure you can start creating an app as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Configuration

Before you start to develop anything, you need to provide Xcode with information related to yourself (as the developer) and your app. This includes:

• Product Name — Your app’s name as it will appear in the Apple App Store and on devices when it’s installed. Product names must be at least two characters and less than 255 bytes. It should be similar to the name that you’ll ultimately enter in the App Store Connect.

• Organization Identifier — This is a reverse DNS string to identify your organization. For those of you who don’t have a company identifier right now, you can use com.example. as a placeholder until you distribute your app. This must be replaced before distribution.

• Organization Name — This is the name that will appear in all boilerplate text in your project folder. This is not the same as the name that appears in the App Store for your app.

It’s worth noting that you cannot change your App ID after it’s been uploaded to App Store Connect. Here’s the official wording from Apple:

Creating a Project

Here’s a quick overview of the steps you must follow to start a new project:

1. Download Xcode and launch it on an Apple platform.
2. Select “Create a new Xcode project” in the welcome window or navigate to File > New > Project.
3. Select a template (iOS, watchOS, macOS, Cross-platform).
4. Fill out all of the required information.
5. Choose your language and user interface (for example, Swift and SwiftUI).

Choosing SwiftUI also gives you the option to develop for all platforms and view an interactive preview of your layout. 

Managing Files

Any time you start a new project or re-open an existing project, Xcode will open your main window. This shows all of your code files and required resources to create your app. 

You can use the project navigator as a way to quickly access different areas of the project. 

All details about the files you select will be shown in the “inspector” portion of Xcode on the right side of the screen. You can always hide this to free up space on your screen as well.

The “toolbar” is where you’ll create and run your application as a simulator or from a real device. If you’re building an iOS app, just select an app target and simulator from the toolbar menu before clicking the run button to proceed. 

You can refer to Apple’s official developer guidelines for more information about how Xcode works.

Windows

As previously mentioned, Xcode is meant for software development on macOS. With that said, there are ways for Windows users to use Xcode for app development as well.

While this isn’t really something we recommend, you can create a virtual environment on your PC. If you’re really tech-savvy, you can create a “Hackintosh”—which is essentially a PC that’s been modified to run macOS. This-party solutions like React Native, Xamarin, Appcelerator, and PhoneGap are other ways to create an app for iOS using the programming language of your choice from a Windows machine.  

Xcode Tools and Features

The latest version of Xcode offers tons of great features, including SDKs for new versions of Apple platforms. Here’s a quick overview of the noteworthy highlights:

Team Comments

Xcode has an inline team comments feature that makes team collaboration a breeze. Reviewers can quickly comment on lines of code, which will appear with their name and avatar—limiting the need for a third-party collaboration solution.

Simulators

In addition to the app simulator for iOS and Mac, Xcode now offers a CarPlay simulator as well. This makes it easy for you to test the CarPlay experience for apps across different types of cars, screen sizes, and other variables. 

Crash Reports and Feedback

You can get detailed crash log reports from TestFlight users to help you quickly identify what caused the app to crash. Testers can add feedback as well to explain what actions they were doing when the crash occurred. 

Xcode Debugging Tools

There are plenty of debugging tools built into Xcode. Piggybacking off the last point, crash logs are displayed inline so you can quickly jump to the relevant code with just a simple click.

What Programming Language Does Xcode Use?

These are the programming languages compatible with Xcode’s integrated development environment:

• Swift
• Objective-C
• Objective-C++
• C
• C++
• Java
• Applescript
• Python
• Ruby (Ruby on Rails)

Objective-C++ can compile the source files using a combination of Objective-C and C++ syntax. 

Advantages of Using Xcode

Xcode is a robust, easy-to-use, and well-designed IDE that’s great for writing code, debugging, and simulating apps built for Apple platforms.

Other Xcode pros include:

• Supports a wide range of programming languages
• User-friendly interface
• Simple navigation from the view controller
• Supports testing and debugging
• Allows developers to create apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and iPadOS

Disadvantages of Using Xcode

Here’s a closer look at some potential drawbacks to consider when using Xcode:

• You must have an Apple ID and Mac
• Doesn’t support development for Android
• App publishing requires complex steps
• Limited drag-and-drop functionality

Using BuildFire SDK as an Alternative to Xcode

For beginners and experienced developers alike, BuildFire SDK is a simpler alternative to learning Xcode. This is the best way to avoid the pains and drawbacks associated with Xcode.

BuildFire makes it possible for developers to create custom functionality using Javascript, HTML, and CSS with any framework. So you’re not limited to the restrictions that come with Xcode.

You can also take advantage of BuildFire’s existing infrastructure and leverage built in tools, including authentication servers, image servers, file servers, databases, and more. 

BuildFire also takes care of all the publishing for both iOS and Android. So you won’t have to go through the complex steps that would normally be required to publish an app from Xcode. 

Take full advantage of our development features like:

• Data tracer
• Remote debugging tool
• Testing tools
• Plugin IDE
• Command-line interface (CLI)
• Hot loader

BuildFire also has hundreds of open source-plugins that you can use and redistribute for free. Our UI components will save you countless hours on development.

Conclusion

I hope this in-depth guide answered all of your questions about Xcode and its use cases. 

Rather than learning how to code and using Xcode as an IDE, you can use BuildFire SDK as an easier alternative. Complete beginners should consider BuildFire Plus—our full-service app development solution. Instead of wasting your own time and internal resources to learn something new, let BuildFire create the app for you, so you can focus on other areas of your business.

Get a free consultation to learn more about our custom app development services.

The post How to Code Xcode: A Complete Tutorial For Beginners appeared first on BuildFire.

Now factor in the 1.14 billion tablet users worldwide, which a number that’s grown about 36% over the past six years.

If you take a second to look up from your phone during the day, I’m sure you’ll notice that everyone else has their eyes glued to a mobile device as well.

In fact, studies show that the average American checks their phone 262 times per day! That’s once every 5.5 minutes.

We use our phones at work, at home, on the street, while we’re eating, in bed, and even in our cars. You might be reading this from a mobile device right now.

What’s everyone doing on their phones? Well, 88% of mobile time is spent on apps.

This is encouraging news for app developers, app publishers, and anyone who plans on developing an app. But in order to be successful in this space, two things need to happen.

1. Users need to download your app.
2. Users need to use your app.

These two seemingly simple actions are what inspired me to write this guide. Sure, we know that people are using apps more than ever before. But that’s just barely scratching the surface in terms of the available data on this usage. You can’t develop an app based on this information alone.

That’s like saying, “People like to eat, so I’m going to open a restaurant.”

If you want to compete and claim your share of this multi-billion dollar industry, you need to have a better understanding of exactly how people are downloading and using mobile apps.

Use the research that I’ve identified in this guide to help you develop or improve your mobile app.

Key Mobile App Statistics for 2023

• Mobile apps are expected to generate over $935 billion in revenue in 2023.
• The Apple App Store has 1.96 million apps available for download.
• There are 2.87 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store.
• 21% of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day.
• 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day.
• 70% of all US digital media time comes from mobile apps.
• The average smartphone owner uses 10 apps per day and 30 apps each month.

Mobile App Downloads

Apps can’t succeed without downloads.

It sounds simple, but all too often I app owners overlook this. You could have the best app on the planet, but if nobody is downloading it, you won’t make a dime.

So before you can get people to download your app, you need to take the time to conduct the proper research. To get you started, I’ve found the most relevant mobile app download statistics for 2023.

Global Downloads

People all over the world are using smartphones and tablets.

As mobile app usage grows in popularity, the number of app downloads worldwide increases as well.

We’re seeing growth in app downloads each year. This trend will continue in the coming years as well.

Last year, there were more than 218 billion app downloads. That’s roughly a 7% increase from the year prior.

As you can see from the graph, there was a 55% jump between 2016 and 2020. The year over year growth rate isn’t quite as sharp, but it’s still on the rise.

Free vs. Paid Downloads

When you’re creating a mobile app, one of the first things you need to figure out is your monetization strategy.

That’s why you’re building an app in the first place, right? To make money.

Charging for app downloads might be something that’s crossed your mind. But will people download your app if you make them pay for it?

Let’s take a look at the number of free vs. paid app downloads. The vast majority of global downloads are all free.

In fact, 98% of mobile app revenue worldwide comes from free apps. Just a fraction of people are willing to pay for downloads.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that you should completely dismiss the idea of launching a paid app. Depending on the type of app you have, there are benefits to both strategies.

If you charge for downloads initially, fewer mobile users will download the app. That’s because the majority of people are used to being offered free downloads.

Just look at your own mobile device. Do you have any apps that you paid to install? You’re in the minority if you do.

However, people who download paid apps are more likely to be engaged. They aren’t going to spend money on something and then never use it.

But you don’t need to charge for downloads to make money with your app.

For those of you who own an existing business and have an app as an extension of that business to improve the customer experience should definitely be offering free downloads.

Mobile app users don’t expect to pay for downloads. That’s because the vast majority of apps available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store are offered for free.

The above graph is based on a research from Statista as of Deptember 2021.

Even if you’re launching an app as a completely new business, you can still make money by offering your app for free. There are plenty of other monetization strategies, such as offering in-app purchases.

If you’re using your app to sell products or services, review the latest mobile ecommerce revenue and usage statistics.

Google Play vs. App Store Downloads

There are two places where the overwhelming majority of mobile users are downloading apps.

Users with iOS devices download iPhone apps from the Apple App Store, while Android app users download from the Google Play Store.

Look at how these two platforms compare to each other in terms of global app downloads.

Worldwide, there are more downloads coming from the Google Play Store. But as you can see, both stores saw an increase in the percentage of downloads from 2019 to 2020.

The Google Play Store downloads grew by 31%, while the Apple App Store had just a 2.5% growth rate.

In short, the Google Play Store has more downloads and is growing at a higher rate.

I expect to see these trends continue in 2023.

Note: Not sure which platform to build for first? With BuildFire, you don’t have to make that decision. The BuildFire app development process allows you to create iOS apps and Android apps, simultaneously. So you can launch on both stores and drive downloads from as many users as possible. 

Apple App Store Download Statistics

We’ve already looked at how the two app stores compared to one another. But now it’s time to break these numbers down even further and take a closer look at each platform.

Let’s start with the Apple App Store download statistics.

Most Popular App Store Categories

In order for your app to be successful, you need to understand what consumers want. This is especially true if you’re building a new app.

Your app might be revolutionary in terms of the software or concept, but if there’s no market for its usage, then you’re going to struggle to get downloads.

First, you should understand what types of apps are being downloaded the most. Here are the most popular categories on the Apple App Store by share of availability.

The gaming category dominates the App Store.

But unless you’re planning to build a new app from scratch, you’re probably not going to have a game. For example, let’s say you have an ecommerce store. It doesn’t make sense to launch a gaming app for your business just so your app can fall into a more popular category.

Your app category needs to be relevant to the purpose and functions of your app. So if you own a business or lifestyle app, you can’t just categorize it as a game to try and get more downloads.

In fact, it’s against the App Store review guidelines if you don’t pick a category for your app’s primary purpose.

Violating these terms can get your app removed from the App Store. Obviously, nobody will be able to download your app if this happens.

So don’t try to trick the system. Your app can still be successful even if it’s not in a top category. Those categories have more competition. Depending on your strategy, you could potentially target a niche category that’s less saturated and try to dominate a larger share of a smaller market.

Apple App Store Availability

As I just said, the mobile app industry is highly competitive.

But how many apps are going to be competing with? Take a look at the number of apps available on the Apple App Store.

The number of available apps is continuing to rise each year.

Based on all of the statistics we’ve analyzed so far, this makes sense. More people have mobile devices than ever before, and app downloads are at an all-time high. So it’s only natural that more apps are being sent to market.

But are app download numbers on the rise because more apps are available? Or are more apps available because so many more apps have been released?

It’s tough to say, and you can argue both sides. We’ll have a better understanding of this reasoning after we analyze the Google Play Store.

Google Play Store Download Statistics

Now it’s time to look at the download statistics from Android devices.

I took the time to create a more in-depth analysis of the Google Play Store.

Google Play Store Availability

We just finished looking at the Apple App Store availability. So I wanted to jump right in and show you the number of apps available for download on the Google Play Store.

As you can see, the graph doesn’t have the same trajectory as the Apple graph for this same category. We actually saw a drop in app availability after mid 2017. Although the number of apps have been steadily rising ever since.

Why is this happening?

The Google Play Store is highly competitive. Some apps just weren’t able to survive.

I don’t expect to see another downward trajectory. Based on the data over the past two years, the trend line should continuing rising for the foreseeable future.

As we already saw, Google Play Store downloads are still rising, even though the number of apps available for download had dropped a bit during that same period.

Let’s tie this back into our Apple discussion. The Apple App Store app availability numbers are rising each year, but the download growth rate is a lower percentage compared to the Google Play Store. Based on this information, I think it’s safe to conclude that the number of apps available on each store isn’t linked to rising app downloads overall.

Most Popular Google Play Store App Categories

You can measure the success of an app category based on penetration. According to Statista, these are the app categories with the highest penetration rate among Android users.

1. Tools — 99.81%
2. Communication — 99.93%
3. Business Apps — 99.33%
4. Video Players & Edit— 96.63%
5. Travel & Local — 95.7%
6. Social Media Apps — 95.02%
7. Productivity — 91.67%
8. Music & Audio — 88.38%
9. Entertainment — 83.85%
10. News & Magazines — 81.11%
11. Photography — 75.77%
12. Books & Reference — 70.74%
13. Lifestyle — 65.67%
14. Personalization — 61.62%
15. Games (Casual) — 58.86%
16. Games (Puzzle) — 56.5%
17. Games (Arcade) — 55.08%
18. Shopping — 35.79%
19. Games (Action) — 34.19%
20. Weather — 32.46%

Some of these categories for leading Android apps need to be taken with a grain of salt. For example, look at the top categories on the list. Those apps (such as communication apps) likely come pre-loaded on all Android devices.

But aside from that, this list is a good indication of what types of apps Android users have downloaded (apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Netflix, TikTok, Spotify, and Tinder). However, just because an app has been installed on a device, it doesn’t mean that it’s being used. We’ll discuss this concept in greater depth as we look at mobile app usage statistics.

Mobile App Usage

Now that you’ve seen how users across the world download apps, it’s time to analyze how people are using mobile apps.

The average smartphone user spends 3 hours and 10 minutes each day using their device. About 2 hours and 51 minutes of this time is spent on apps (apps account for roughly 90% of smartphone usage).

Research shows that there are 80+ apps installed on the average smartphone. But with that said, people aren’t using all of those apps. 

The average person uses 9 mobile apps per day and 30 apps per month. 

If the average smartphone user has 80 apps on their phone, this means that more than 62% of those apps don’t get used every month.

What does this mean? It’s simple. People are downloading apps and not using them. In fact, 25% of apps are used only once after being downloaded, and then never used again.

We’ll dive deeper into app usage statistics as we continue through this guide.

Mobile App Retention and Churn

As you just learned, app usage is not guaranteed after a download. Some of you might be aware of this if your app has already been brought to market.

You may have had an initial surge in terms of the number of downloads, but you’re struggling to make money because people just aren’t using the app. It’s a common problem that I see when I’m consulting with app owners.

But how do you know if this is happening to you? The best way to measure this is with retention and churn.

71% of app users churn within the first 90 days of downloading an app.

What does this mean for you and your app?

Basically, you need to track these metrics. Give users a reason to keep coming back and using your app down the road.

You’ll never have 100% retention, so you always need to be coming up with ways to get new downloads. But with that said, it doesn’t mean you should be ignoring existing users.

If your app doesn’t perform well and has glitches, bugs, or UX flaws, people will be more likely to churn. No app is perfect. Even the top apps have bugs now and then. But it’s your responsibility to identify those errors. Come up with updates and new versions of your app to improve the performance and user experience.

Most Essential Mobile Apps

Earlier we talked about app popularity in terms of what’s available for download, as well as penetration by category.

But just because they are available, it doesn’t mean they are being used. In fact, just because they are being downloaded, it doesn’t mean that they are being used either. We already saw the data to back that claim.

Now I want to show you the apps that smartphone users say they can’t live without.

If you look at this list, it makes sense. All of the top apps are used for different purposes and could be used on a daily basis.

• Facebook and Instagram for social media
• Gmail for email communication
• YouTube for video content
• Maps for navigation
• Amazon for online purchases
• WhatsApp and Messenger for instant communication
• Chrome for browsing the Internet

For those of you who want to develop a new mobile app, I can’t say I recommend building something that competes with one of these top apps.

There is nothing wrong with shooting for the stars. You can still build a mobile commerce app for your business and have plenty of success. But it would be an uphill battle, to say the least, if you wanted your app to be the next Amazon.

Can you build an app with GPS map services? Sure. But will it surpass Google Maps? Probably not.

Apple and Android Global Spending

As we’ve seen, there are clearly some download and usage differences between iOS and Android app development. Why?

Well, the users aren’t the same. If you compare Apple and Android users, you’ll learn that they behave differently.

For starters, let’s look at the way consumers spend money using their devices. Here’s the latest data from Q3 2021:

• Google Play Store Gross App Revenue: $12.1 billion
• Apple App Store Gross App Revenue: $21.5 billion

These numbers represent spending from paid app downloads, subscriptions, and in-app purchases.

Even with a smaller mobile app market share, Apple users still spend more money. Apple users dominate app spending, at nearly double the rate of Android users.

While your app should be appealing to all users, you’ll have better luck getting iOS app users to buy premium upgrades and other in-app purchases.

Mobile App Usage by Age

Technology usage varies by generation. Mobile app usage is no exception.

You probably assumed that younger generations spend more time using mobile apps than people who are older. If so, that assumption was correct.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t target other age groups. As you can see from the graph, people between the ages of 45-54 spend about 1 hour and 15 minutes per day using mobile apps. That’s just 27 minutes less than people in the 25-34 age range.

Even mobile users over the age of 65 spend close to an hour mobile apps every day.

Mobile App Usage by Device

Not all mobile usage is created equally. In addition to the differences between operating systems, the usage will also vary by the type of mobile device that people use.

Smartphone App Usage

Digital content can be consumed from so many devices.

People have smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, and laptops. You can even access content and apps from smart TVs, watches, smart home devices, and smart vehicles.

But there are certain categories that are dominated with smartphone app usage. These are the top categories that people turn to their smartphones for.

In the United States, 96% of digital time using maps came from smartphones. 86% of digital weather content was consumed through smartphone apps.

Logically, it makes sense. People need to access maps and GPS services on the go, so a smartphone is obviously the best choice.

But if you look farther down this list, you’ll see other categories that aren’t as obvious.

For example, 47% of retail consumption comes from smartphone apps. People have so many ways to buy online, yet they still choose to use smartphones at a high rate.

News and information is another category that jumps out at me. While the smartphone usage is just over 40%, it’s still high considering all of the other platforms and outlets at our disposal.

Smartphones vs. tablets

Smartphones and tablets have some differences as well.

If you recall from earlier, there are twice the number of smartphones worldwide than tablets (2.7 billion vs. 1.35 billion). But tablet usage is starting to catch up with smartphones.

People download more apps on their smartphones and use more smartphone apps on a monthly basis. But as you can see from the visual, tablets aren’t too far behind.

Considering the fact that smartphones are seemingly always within an arm’s reach, it makes sense that they would be used more.

However, tablets outperform smartphones by a hair when it comes to paid apps or subscription purchases via an app. This could be a category that tablets will continue to control in years to come.

Tablet Usage

While tablets may not be as popular as smartphones, they are used for specific purposes.

Here’s a look at the most popular app categories used on tablets.

Here’s another instance where gaming ranks first on a usage list. If you compare this graph to the previous one, you could conclude that a user is more likely to pay for gaming apps that are installed on a tablet.

Since tablet screens are larger, the gameplay and user experience will be enhanced. That’s probably why tablet users are willing to pay more for downloads and subscriptions.

Mobile App Usage by Country

Like nearly everything else, behavior changes by location. This same concept can be applied to app usage.

We’ll take a look and analyze how people in different parts of the world use mobile apps. You can use this information to learn about the audience you’re targeting, or potentially see an opportunity in new markets.

App Downloads by Country

Here’s a look at the top app store downloads by leading countries worldwide.

Over the past four years, the number of app downloads in China has grown by 80%.

But other emerging markets like India, Indonesia, and Brazil are all seeing high growth rates as well. As you can see from the graph, India’s app download growth rate over the same stretch is a whopping 190%. This compares to just 5% in the United States.

As technology advances and becomes increasingly accessible in emerging markets across the globe, the potential for targeting international consumers with an app can be appealing for certain businesses.

Monthly App Usage (in hours)

Now let’s see how much time people are spending using mobile apps in select markets worldwide. 

In many ways, this graph mirrors what we saw previously. As downloads rise in India, it makes sense that users would spend more time using apps. 

There is one thing that remains consistent across the board for each of these countries. The time spent on mobile apps is growing each year. Take a country like Italy, with a fraction of the population compared India. But both of these markets have seen a 30% growth rate in the average amount time spent using apps from 2019-2020.

Apple vs. Google Play (iOS vs. Android) Downloads Worldwide

Android dominates the global market share. So it’s no surprise to see the vast majority of app downloads worldwide come from the Google Play Store.

As you can see from the graph, we have closer to a 50/50 split here in the US. Apple App Store downloads have a controlling share in Japan, but the Google Play Store dominates everywhere else.

Final Thoughts

Mobile apps are part of our daily lives. 2023 will continue to a big year for the mobile app industry.

Even though mobile usage and penetration are at an all-time high, every piece of data that we analyzed shows we are still trending upward.

This is encouraging for anyone who has a mobile app or plans to build one. But you can’t just develop and manage an app without staying up to date on the latest research and trends.

So use this guide as a reference to help you understand the mobile app industry from a download and usage perspective.

If you’re ready to develop an app in 2023, sign up and get started with BuildFire. Our easy-to-use platform allows you to create an iOS and Android app simultaneously, without writing a single line of code.

What metrics are you tracking to measure the usage statistics for your mobile app?

The post Mobile App Download Statistics & Usage Statistics (2023) appeared first on BuildFire.

Could this be the reason why companies are investing more money into user-friendly mobile design and UX designers? I’m sure.

What would these companies expect to get from this bold step? Well, according to DMI, “In 10 years, a $10,000 investment in design-centric companies would have yielded returns 228% greater than the same investment in the S&P.”

What is App Design?

App design is the look and feel of a mobile application. This includes all of the visual elements and interactive elements that impact how the app functions.

Mobile app design combines two concepts—UI and UX.

The user interface (UI) encompasses the app’s look and feel. It includes color, font, app style, and similar design choices. The user experience (UX) design prioritizes the app’s functions and use. 

So many people have great app ideas. But without a high-quality UI and UX design, it will be tough to keep users coming back. Whether you’re building an ecommerce app, internal employee app, fitness app, or app in any category, the design always needs to be a top priority. 

That’s why it’s so important to invest in app design from the beginning. An investment now will actually save you money and ensure a higher ROI for your app down the road.

Additional Reading: What’s the Difference Between UX vs. UI Design?

What Platform Should I Design For?

Most app developers need to design for multiple platforms. You’ll likely want the app to be available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

With that said, there are different nuances to consider when you’re designing an app for multiple platforms and operating systems. There are also different platform guidelines and differences in the development process for iOS and Android.

It’s also worth noting that the market share for iOS and Android are different. Apple controls the US market share, but Android dominates globally. So your target audience will ultimately help dictate what platform you’re designing for. 

iOS App Design

There are several things you need to keep in mind when you’re designing an iOS app. For starters, the platform is extremely reliable. It’s fast and easy to use.

Apple also makes it much easier to debug flaws in the app design. So if you have usability problems, you should be able to quickly fix them and deploy an update. 

Apple users want a sleek design. It should be modern and intuitive. You’ll also want to ensure the app is compatible across the entire Apple ecosystem. This includes apps for iPads, Apple Watches, Macs, and more.

Android App Design

Android isn’t a closed ecosystem like Apple. So you’ll have a lot more flexibility with your app-building and design environment compared to iOS apps. 

There’s also an extensive knowledge base from Google that you can reference if you’re an app design beginner. Compared to Apple, it’s generally less expensive to design and publish an Android app.

Similar to iOS, Android apps need to think about a design that extends beyond smartphones. It should integrate with wearables, VR tools, Android auto, and more. There’s an app store for so many different device types and platforms that need to be taken into consideration when you’re designing for Android.

Creating Wireframes and App Mockups

Wireframes can best be described as a broad design of the app layout. You don’t have to worry too much about functionality just yet. You’re just mapped out the user journey to establish the basic structure of your pages.

This is one of the earliest steps in the design process, and there are lots of great design tools that you can use for wireframes (we’ll cover those shortly).

Mockups take the wireframes one step further. These are high-fidelity simulations of what the app will look like once it’s built. It has the structure and logic of a wireframe but combines the UI elements and high-fidelity UX/UI elements of design as well.

To get started with wireframes and mockups, think about the basics. How many screens will your app have? Sketch the homepage and then see what screens you need from there.

From here, you can start to think about the app layout. How will the information be ordered? What’s the hierarchy of importance?

These first steps don’t need to be super technical. Eventually, the designers and developers will work together to put your initial sketches into code. They’ll connect all of the pages in your product design to ensure everything is smooth for the end-users. 

They’ll also need to check and make sure the design concepts actually fit on the screen. You don’t want certain elements of the design, like a menu bar or CTA, to get cut off on certain devices. 

Before you launch your app or go live with any new designs, you’ll need to run some tests first. The app design testing ensures that all of your ideas work functionally within the app and the UX/UI design hasn’t been compromised.

The 24 Best App Design Tools

While it’s still essential to sketch your wireframes and products prototype on paper, app designing software are making it easier less tedious and easy to share finished or unfinished jobs with clients, developers, and designers.

But with so many design tools everywhere nowadays, it can be challenging to choose the best tool for your particular type of app. Whether you’re an app design pro or a complete beginner in the world of mobile app design, this is a great article that will have a huge impact on your skills.

Good news is, I’ve distilled the 24 tools mobile app developers prefer to use. I’m confident that you’ll find the right tool with the functionality you need from this list of practical recommendations.

1. Sketch

Sketch is a lightweight MacBook based UI/UX design tool for modern app designers. Sketch is more like Adobe Photoshop but it’s built mainly for app prototyping and has one of the highest share in the wireframing and prototyping space.

The download size is about 20 megabyte, it doesn’t use too much system resources, it exports assets very fast. Ultimately, you just have to buy it once and then renew license yearly. You can’t animate with it. However, it’s a great choice for most app designers.

So if you want to edit photos, you’ll have to combine this app with other tools like Photoshop or Adobe illustrator. Are you a PC fan? It’s so unfortunate the guys at Bohemian Coding may not be supporting PCs.

Here’s what they said in their FAQ: “Due to the technologies and frameworks exclusive to OS X that Sketch has been built upon, regrettably we will not be considering supporting Sketch on either of these platforms.”

2. BuildFire

BuildFire is an end-to-end app development platform that can be a great tool for mobile app designers, allowing you to create a working prototype of the app you are designing. BuildFire has fully customizable functionality, allowing you to upload any of your designs, customize fonts, colors and more. You may even find that the built-in functionality on the BuildFire platform has everything you need to create a fully functioning app that you can publish to the IOS and Google Play store right from the platform. 

You can build your prototype and create apps for Apple and Android users alike, and test it on your phone completely free and only pay when you are ready to publish. BuildFire’s app design templates allow you to prioritize UI design on mobile devices. You can even use it to collect user feedback and user input via push notifications. This information from real users will ultimately help you build the perfect app.

BuildFire simplifies app design, and makes it easy for anyone to create mobile apps. You can customize everything about your mobile app to build exactly what you want. It’s an app creation solution for non-technicial users who don’t have app design experience. 

The cool part about BuildFire is that you can preview your mobile app design directly on your own mobile screen, even before the mobile app gets published. This helps you figure out what real mobile users will see when they download your app, predict their navigation patterns, test screen sizes, mobile forms, and see if the app design is “finger friendly.” Users abandon mobile apps if these aspects of the app design are wrong. 

You don’t need to hire a development team for mobile app design. As one of the best app building sites on the market, BuildFire is compatible with every major operating system, so you can follow OS design guidelines for both Apple and Android.

3. Adobe Experience Design (XD)

Adobe XD is the direct competitor of Sketch. If you’re a PC fan and have been looking to use Sketch but have been limited because it exclusively supports Mac, then, this is good news for you.

XD provides you with basically all the features you get from Sketch—wireframing, prototyping, and more.

XD is ridiculously fast and easy to use. Although it’s still in preview state and lacks some features like every other new product and in this state, it supports only Windows 10 Anniversary Update, many app designers have used it and are in love with it. XD is really promising.

Don’t get me wrong, XD isn’t as good as Sketch yet but it’s promising and might beat its counterpart in the foreseeable future.

4. Axure RP

Axure RP is a complete app design tool for professional designers. It tries to give you all the functionalities you need to design your app from start to finish, while prioritizing user experience. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

Aside from the prototyping, it allows you to also design wireframes, mockups, flowcharts, personas, idea boards, user journeys, UI design, diagramming and graphical documentations and even more.

The interesting thing is, if you are a code freak and will like to do some coding, it allows you to code, and also allows you to add ready to use components and libraries to help you create even better design seamlessly.

So you’re not limited, I guess you’re only limited by your imagination. However, all this sums up to why it has a steep learning curve.

Thinking if it supports your OS? Axure RP currently has support for OS X and Windows OS.

5. Marvel

Looking at designing, prototyping and also collaborating with your design team? Marvel makes it possible for you to do all of that.

Plus it makes it possible for you to synchronize your designs from other tools like Sketch or Photoshop, and illustrator, easily, and even those on cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Consequently, you can add your designs from different tools and use Marvel to make it come alive with all the animation features.

Needless to say, you won’t border about hiring an after effect expert to do animations for your static prototype, it allows you add animations easily.

Unlike other tools, Marvel is supper specific—design, prototype and collaborate. If this sounds like what you’re looking for, then Marvel could be the design tool for you.

6. Proto.io

With a lot of design and prototype templates, you can make your work easier with Proto.io. It’s easy to use, as no coding is required. More importantly, you can seamlessly import your UI components from Sketch or Photoshop.

You can use the timeline feature to create cool animations to show the flow of your app across different screens. It’s made to be simple and elegant. Proto.io has a lot of features.

Have assets in Dropbox or Google Drive? Proto.io allows you to synchronize them easily to help you simplify your workflow. These interesting features of Proto.io (Material Design UI Library and Offline mode) can’t be left out—though it’s a web design app you can actually work with it when you’re not online.

Thankfully, it’s a browser-based prototyping tool, you don’t need to download any heavy software, you can start using it right away after signing up for their 15 days free trial.

7. Origami Studio

Origami is a standalone user interface design tool developed by Facebook engineers and has been used by Facebook to design Facebook apps like Facebook Messenger and Instagram and now it’s available for you for free. It’s a complex tool with great functionalities.

You can preview your app prototype with Origami (Android or iOS), copy and paste layers from Sketch and get them working in Origami.

Want to show your clients or anyone your designs? You can record your prototype and quickly send it to anyone from the Origami app.

Another cool functionality Origami has is that you can connect it to your Apple or Android mobile devices to preview it and see live changes as you work on it.

8. OmniGraffle

OmniGraffle is a diagram design tool that provides the features and freedom to prototype screen flows, strategy maps, wireframes, and a variety of diagrams.

With OmniGraffle, you can quickly visualize the flow of your app. So, it helps you in planning your app development without much hassle.

9. Balsamiq

Unlike other tools, Balsamiq helps you to design wireframes and wireframes alone effortlessly. So, if you are looking for a tool to design just wireframes alone, then Balsamiq does a great job at it.

You can decide to make wireframe sketches or make clean wireframe designs. The sweetest thing is that it’s fast and has a lot of UI elements to match your thought-out design.

10. JustInMind

JustInMind is a standalone tool for designing wireframes and for prototyping. This tool can be downloaded to your server for design team collaboration. It allows you to add HTML, videos, online widgets, docs, interactive maps and online/offline to your application through its widget library.

JustinMind also allows integration with JIRA, Microsoft TFS, Doors. You can manage your team members from the same platform. More so, they have tons of plugins extensions to help make your job easier.

11. HotGloo

HotGloo is a robust interface designing tool that allows you to prototype any type of mobile application that needs a particular interface for user experience. It has extraordinary interactive features.

It allows many designers to work on a single wireframe project from wherever they are.

It’s a web-based tool, which means you’re not limited—you can work with it from anywhere, and you are not required to download any software.

12. UI Stencil Kit

If you work with a team, in an office, the UI stencil kit can help you a great deal in your app brainstorming and ideation phase.

It has some sticky note feature you can post on idea boards, having to sketch your ideas on paper makes your initial ideation stage very flexible. UI stencil kit is a tool every designer must have. Put ideas on paper, it’s very important.

13. Flinto

Does it look like all odds are against you on the best tools in the market because you’re not on Mac?

Maybe you want to collaborate with your team and everyone is using Mac and now you’re thinking of getting a Mac because you want to be able to use Sketch?

Well, Flinto has a web design tool and Mac version, you can easily import your Sketch and Photoshop designs and join your team. You’ll never feel like you’re left out.

It’s super fast, mirrors iPhone and Android transition animations, it supports prototype previewing, and sharing the installation link is simple — just send a link to whoever you want to from the app.

14. FramerJS

FramerJS is a flexible and interactive mobile app design tool that allows you to code or use their visual editing tool that auto-generates the corresponding code at the backend, which you can re-use if you like to meddle with code. Otherwise, the visual editor should be fine if you’re just a visual designer.

FramerJS isn’t the app to just start using on visiting their website. You need to take some training which is provided for free. You can learn how to create powerful wireframes and prototypes with the tool.

Basically, with Framer, you’re limited by your imagination. You can preview your prototype. It aids easy workflow and easily import your designs from Sketch, Figma, and Photoshop and collaborate with your team members.

15. InVision

Have you made your design and need to add interactivity to it? inVision allows you to upload your design files and add animations, gestures, and transitions to turn your static prototypes into interactive and clickable prototypes.

It helps you guide and manage your workflow with effective collaboration.

16. Zeplin

Zeplin is a collaboration tool for designers and developers. It goes far beyond design and workflow—which allows mobile designers to create a masterpiece. It allows you to upload your wireframes and visual designs from Photoshop and Sketch and add them to your project folder in Zeplin.

Building a product specification document and reiterating it every other time can really be tedious—with Zeplin you don’t ever have to do that.

Developers don’t need to wait until designers finish the design before getting the specs, because developers can be introduced to the design process early enough and annotations are generated for the uploaded files from Sketch or Photoshop.

The iterations can be done at the same time—thereby reducing the number of iterations for a project.

17. UXPin

You want to be able to create powerful UX without code and take on the whole process from design to development the “Agile” way, all in one place? UXPin is more likely what you’re looking for.

UXPin is a drag and drop UI/UX design tool for creating high-end fidelity wireframes and prototypes.

It allows you to do your designs in the program or from either Photoshop or Sketch and import same to UXPin—you can create interactive workflows and wireframes within a short period of time.

Since it has a lot of built-in elements you are not restricted at all. That said,, you can experiment with more than 1000 built-in elements for web, mobile, and desktop products.

18. Iconjar

Organizing your icons couldn’t get any better. Iconjar allows you to upload and store all your icons in one place from which you can search for them and drag and drop them to your project on Sketch or Photoshop.

Searching and uploading icons all the time can be really stressful and time consuming—essentially, Iconjar eliminates this hassle. Now, you can organize thousands of icons in one place—then, drag and drop to your project on Sketch, Photoshop or illustrator.

However, you may not be able to upload .ai and .sketch files.

19. Fluid UI

Conclusion

Prototypes give life to your new idea. You definitely won’t have to use all of these tools, just the one that you think your team needs to take your design process to the next level.

Mobile app design is a continually evolving project. There’s always going to areas that require improvement. 

Pay attention to other apps on the market for inspiration. Can you learn from their design systems? Assess things like visual weight, call to action buttons, tab bar, and any other app design elements that will impact mobile usage. You can take this information and use it to create your own set of app design best practices. 

Last but not least, if you’re looking for an all-in-one tool for UX designers without all the troubles of coding associated with the development process, you should try Buildfire.com—it’ll allow you to excitedly build a mobile app for your business in 3 simple steps: Choose an app template, customize your app, publish and manage.

The post Mobile App Design: The Complete Designer’s Guide | BuildFire appeared first on BuildFire.

As app development experts, we recognize the significance of beta testing in delivering top-notch mobile apps—which is why we’ve created this comprehensive guide. In this post, we’ll explore the concept of beta testing, its importance in mobile app development, and best practices to help you get the most out of your beta testing process.

What is Beta Testing?

Beta testing is the second phase of software testing, following alpha testing, in which a limited group of end-users tests a nearly-complete version of the software or mobile app. 

The primary goal of beta testing is to identify any remaining bugs, usability issues, or other problems that the development team may have missed during internal testing. By collecting feedback from real users, developers can gain valuable insights into how their product performs in a real-world environment and make any necessary improvements before the final release.

Alpha Testing vs. Beta Testing

Alpha testing is the first phase of software testing—conducted internally by the development team and a select group of employees within the organization. This testing phase aims to identify and fix any critical bugs or issues before the software reaches the beta testing stage. 

While alpha testing focuses on functionality and stability, beta testing emphasizes usability, compatibility, and overall user experience.

Here’s a more in-depth comparison of alpha testing vs. beta testing.

Importance of Beta Testing for Mobile App Development

Beta testing is particularly vital in mobile app development for several reasons:

• User Experience: Mobile apps need to be intuitive, responsive, and easy to use. Beta testing allows developers to collect feedback from actual users and make adjustments to ensure the app delivers an excellent user experience.

• Device Compatibility: With the plethora of devices, screen sizes, and operating systems, ensuring compatibility across all platforms is crucial. Beta testing helps developers identify and resolve any compatibility issues that may arise on different devices.

• App Store Rankings: Positive user reviews and high ratings are essential for a successful app launch, as they significantly impact app store rankings. By addressing any issues during beta testing, developers can increase the likelihood of receiving favorable reviews upon release.

The Beta Testing Process

The entire beta testing process can be broken down into six simple steps:

1. Planning and Preparation
2. Recruitment and Selection of Beta Testers
3. Conducting the Beta Test
4. Collecting and Analyzing Feedback
5. Iterating and Refining the Product
6. Preparing for Release

We’ll cover each of these in greater detail below. 

Step 1 – Planning and Preparation

Before initiating the beta testing process, it’s essential to define clear objectives for your tests. These objectives may include identifying bugs, validating features, and assessing overall user satisfaction. Having well-defined goals will help guide the testing process and ensure that the final product meets your desired standards.

You also need to identify the target audience of your app or software. That’s because your beta testers should represent this target audience—as they’ll provide the most relevant feedback during your tests. Consider factors like demographics, technical expertise, and device usage when selecting your testers.

Make sure to provide your testers with all of the necessary resources, including the test build, user manuals, and any supporting documentation. Ensure that your materials are clear and concise to enable testers to use the app effectively.

Step 2 – Recruitment and Selection of Beta Testers

When choosing beta testers, consider their technical expertise, familiarity with similar apps, and availability. It’s essential to have a diverse group of testers, as this will help identify a wide range of issues and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the app’s performance.

To recruit a diverse group of testers, you can reach out to your existing user base, use social media platforms, or collaborate with online testing communities. Be sure to clearly communicate your testing objectives and expectations to potential testers, as this will help you attract individuals who are genuinely interested in providing valuable feedback.

Step 3 – Conducting the Beta Test

Share the beta version of your app and any necessary supporting materials with your selected testers. Depending on the platform and the type of beta test (closed or open), you may need to use specific distribution methods—such as app store beta testing programs or third-party distribution tools.

Clearly communicate the testing process, objectives, and expectations to your testers. Provide them with step-by-step instructions for installing the app, reporting issues, and submitting feedback. This will ensure that testers can effectively participate in the testing process and contribute valuable insights.

You should also set up a dedicated channel for testers to submit feedback and communicate with your team. This could be an online forum, a bug-tracking system, or an email address. Ensure that your team members are available to respond to testers’ questions and concerns in a timely manner.

Step 4 – Collecting and Analyzing Feedback

As feedback comes in, organize and categorize it based on factors such as severity, frequency, and impact on the user experience. This will help you prioritize which issues to address first and allocate resources effectively.

Then you can analyze the collected feedback to identify any patterns or trends. 

For example, if multiple testers report similar issues or suggestions, these may indicate areas where the app needs improvement. By recognizing these patterns, you can make more informed decisions about which changes to implement.

The initial feedback collected in your beta tests will help set up your feedback loop for iterations and future testing.

Step 5 – Iterating and Refining the Product

Based on the feedback analysis, make the necessary changes to your app. This may involve fixing bugs, enhancing features, or making adjustments to the user interface. Ensure that your team is aligned on the changes and that they are implemented effectively.

Once changes have been made, conduct further testing to validate that the issues have been resolved and that the app’s performance has improved. Depending on the scope of the changes, you may choose to involve the same group of testers or recruit a new group for a fresh perspective.

Step 6 – Preparing for Release

Now you can finalize your documentation and other software resources. 

Update your user manuals, help guides, and other documents to reflect any changes made during the beta testing process. This helps ensure that users have access to accurate information upon the app’s release.

It’s also in your best interest to keep all stakeholders, including your team members, testers, and investors, informed about the app’s progress and the planned release date. This will help maintain engagement and support throughout the development process.

Types of Beta Testing

Generally speaking, there are two main types of beta testing—closed and open. 

To determine which type of beta testing is best suited for your mobile app, consider factors like your testing objectives, target audience, available resources, and desired level of control over the testing process. 

Some developers opt for a hybrid approach, starting with a closed beta test and then transitioning to an open beta test to capitalize on the benefits of both methods.

Closed Beta Testing

Closed beta testing is a private testing phase where a select group of users is invited to test the app. Access to the app is restricted, and testers may be required to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to maintain confidentiality.

This method allows for more controlled testing conditions—enabling developers to receive targeted feedback from a specific group of users. Closed beta testing can lead to a more focused and efficient testing process. However, the limited number of testers can result in less diverse feedback and may not uncover all potential issues.

Open Beta Testing

Open beta testing, also known as public beta testing, involves opening the app to a larger audience—often without any restrictions or invitations. 

Users can voluntarily participate in testing, providing a wider range of feedback and helping to identify issues that might have been missed during closed beta testing.

Here’s an example of an open beta test from Google:

Open beta testing provides a larger pool of testers, increasing the likelihood of identifying a wide range of issues and gathering diverse feedback. This type of testing can also generate buzz and create a sense of community around the app before its official release. However, managing the feedback from a large number of testers can be challenging, and there is a risk of receiving low-quality or irrelevant feedback.

Beta Testing Challenges and Solutions

To ensure your tests run smoothly, it’s important to understand some common roadblocks and hurdles that often result in inaccurate or ineffective tests. First, we’ll identify those challenges and then give you some key tips for preventing and overcoming them. 

Common Challenges Faced During Beta Testing

These are the three areas where software teams tend to struggle the most when they’re running beta tests:

• Time Constraints: Limited time for testing can lead to rushed processes and insufficient feedback. Balancing the need for thorough testing with the desire to release the app quickly can be challenging.

• Limited Resources: With finite resources, developers must prioritize which issues to address and which features to test more extensively. This can lead to difficult decision-making and potential trade-offs.

• Managing Tester Expectations: Testers may have different levels of experience and expectations, making it challenging to ensure a consistent and productive testing process.

Solutions to Overcome Challenges

These simple yet highly effective solutions will make it easier for you to run successful beta tests:

• Efficient Test Management: Establish clear objectives, expectations, and guidelines to streamline the testing process. Utilize tools and strategies to prioritize issues and allocate resources effectively.

• Leveraging Tools and Automation: Use testing tools and automation to increase efficiency and minimize manual tasks, freeing up time and resources for other critical aspects of the development process.

• Establishing Clear Communication: Maintain open lines of communication with your testers to address any questions or concerns, and provide regular updates on the app’s progress. This will help manage expectations and ensure a smoother testing process.

How to Measure the Success of Beta Testing

Running the test is just one aspect of beta testing. You also need to understand what you should be looking for in the tests to see if things were done properly or if you need to go through another round of testing. 

The following KPIs are a good indication of whether or not your test was successful:

• Bug Discovery Rate: Track the number and severity of bugs identified during testing. A lower bug discovery rate may indicate a more stable and well-developed app.

• User Engagement: Monitor user engagement metrics such as session length, frequency of use, and feature adoption. High engagement levels can signify a positive user experience.

• Feedback Quality and Quantity: Assess the quality and quantity of feedback received from testers. Valuable and actionable feedback can help drive meaningful improvements to your app.

Then you can analyze the collected KPIs and other data points to make informed decisions about the app’s readiness for release and any necessary adjustments. 

Be prepared to iterate on your product based on the insights gained during the beta testing process. Keep in mind that achieving success in beta testing is not about attaining perfection but rather about identifying and addressing the most critical issues and improving the overall user experience.

Leveraging Beta Testing Feedback for Future Development

Software testing is an ongoing process. So rather than looking at each test in isolation, you should also take steps to improve your testing and development process as a whole. 

Learn from Feedback

Take the time to thoroughly review and understand the feedback received from your testers. This feedback can provide valuable insights into potential improvements, feature requests, and areas of user dissatisfaction. Use this information to prioritize future development efforts and create a roadmap for ongoing enhancements.

Maintain Relationships with Testers

Your beta testers can be a valuable resource even after the testing phase has concluded. Keep the lines of communication open and maintain relationships with your most engaged and helpful testers. They can provide ongoing feedback, help generate buzz for your app, and even become early adopters or advocates for your product.

Continue to Improve and Iterate

Remember that the development process doesn’t end with the release of your app. Continually refine and iterate on your product based on user feedback, analytics, and market trends. This will help you stay competitive and ensure that your app remains relevant and appealing to users.

Final Thoughts

Beta testing is a critical component of the mobile app development process, providing valuable insights into your app’s performance and user experience. By carefully planning and executing the beta testing process, you can identify and address potential issues, validate features, and ultimately deliver a high-quality app that meets the needs of your target audience.

We hope this ultimate guide to beta testing has provided you with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively implement beta testing in your development process. 

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